Mario Kart Mayhem: Double Dash
by XVZY
Summary: Sequel to Mario Kart Mayhem. One year later and its Mario Kart season again - but this time, everything has changed!
1. Chapter 1: Toadsworth's announcement

Luigi sat in a great lounge room inside Princess Peach's castle, designed with pink walls, a pink ceiling, a pink carpet and even pink-coloured lounges arranged neatly in a large semi-circle. Looking over at Yoshi, one of the standout racers of last year's tournament, he tried to make a facial expression to convey his message, but Yoshi just shrugged dismissively.

By seeing that all the racers of last year were now all gathered, plus the fact that the golden Mario Kart emblem was proudly showing on the curtain draped over the stage in front of him, Luigi had no doubt that this was something to do with the upcoming Mario Kart season – and the first race in less than a week. Sitting right next to him was Toadbert, a blue-capped toad that was also Luigi's trusty mechanic, and he too was just as confused.

"Attention all Mario Kart racers! Please welcome the president of the tournament, Toadsworth!"

With that, Toadsworth promptly stepped onto the stage, cane in hand. After waiting for the applause to die down, he tapped the microphone a few times, before beginning his well-rehearsed speech.

"Welcome, racers, to the start of the 22nd Mario Kart tournament! I am pleased to announce there would be several changes this year".

There was a few gasps from the crowd.

"Firstly, instead of racing solo, you would be racing with a partner. One would be the driver, and one would be in charge of the item boxes and the items contained within them. The team would take turns, switching driver and partner every race, until Rainbow Roads, when teammates can choose their favoured positions".

Between the cheers, a few boos were mixed in, showing both eagerness and annoyance.

"Now, unless I am very much mistaken, you racers each submitted a letter with the name of your favourite Mario Kart racer, aside from yourself".

"So we were actually choosing our driving partners!", an angry Waluigi hollered across the lounge. "Why didn't you tell us!"

"And spoil the surprise?" Toadsworth smiled. "Now, let me read out the names to you:

"Princess Peach and Princess Daisy".

The two princesses high-fived each other with much enthusiasm. Peach, of course, knew all along what was going to happen.

"Bowser and Bowser Jr."

The big Koopas snickered, as if planning some evil plan. Luigi, judging from their personalities, knew they probably were.

"Yoshi and Birdo."

"Yoshi Yoshi!", Yoshi said happily, knowing that Birdo also voted for him. His pink counterpart grunted in return.

"Wario and Waluigi."

"Team Wario, number one!" Wario screamed. Waluigi was quick to point out that they should go by _his _name, and as a massive argument started Toadsworth continued with his announcement:

"Toad and Toadette."

"Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong".

"Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa".

"Princess Rosalina and Lubba".

"Ludwig von Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa"

Everyone glanced at the two newcomers. The Koopalings didn't say anything, and continued to stare at Toadsworth.

"And lastly, a team composed of last year's winner (Luigi filled with pride) and last year's runner-up (it wasn't a fair fight, Mario bitterly thought), Mario and Luigi!

"Boooo!" Bowser heckled from the other side of the semi-circle, but Luigi didn't notice. On most occasions, he and his brother got along just fine, but when Mario Kart was involved, not so much. Their racing rivalry was intensified last year after Mario scored a DNF ('Did Not Finish'), when he attempted to ram Luigi off the track on Rainbow Road.

The two brothers shook each other's hands. Sure, they were brothers and all, but Mario still remembered Luigi knocking off his title as defending champion. They knew that teamwork was crucial, unlike Wario and Waluigi, whose argument over the team name had now turned to fists and violence.

Toadsworth wished them good luck, and walked off the stage. The new teams quickly got out of their lounges and went for home.

Luigi caught up with Toad at the castle's entrance. "You think you will win?"

"With Toadette at my side, we're title contenders!", Toad said proudly. "Rosalina (who finished third last year) and Lubba would probably be our main rivals, and so would Bowser and Bowser Jr. I wouldn't be surprised if those two turned up with a monster of a kart and a bag of dirty tricks. But, what I'm curious about are Ludwig von Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa. It isn't easy, racing your first Mario Kart race, you know. Some say once, on his first go, a racer fainted."

Luigi chuckled, and continued the conversation. "I guess, like always, the first race is at Luigi Circuit, huh. Meet you at the races! Good luck!"

"Good luck!", Toad shouted back, as they went separate ways. Luigi then went up to his brother. "You think we're gonna win this year?"

Mario shrugged. "We might. Go Team…uh…what do you think would be a good team name?"

"I dunno. As long as it isn't one of _our _names.", Luigi answered, thinking of Wario and Waluigi again.

"What about The Plumbers?"

"You know very well that plumbing isn't one of our strong points, and after our first rescue of the princess that isn't our occupation any more."

"Princess Savers!"

"How about we just stick with something simple and go with _Mario Bros._ At least its better than 'The Plumbers' or 'Princess Savers'!"

"Yeah, let's go with that", Luigi admitted. "Let's start tomorrow".

* * *

><p>Luigi once lived in a run-down apartment, but since a gift from Peach has turned into a marvellous, triple-story mansion. What <em>wasn't <em>a part of the original plan was a scrappy shed bolted onto the side of the house.

Luigi looked at the marvellous green kart that was the L Charger – the brilliant machine that was the racer that gave him glory last year.

At around noon, Mario turned up. His original mechanic, Toadofsky, walked alongside him.

"You sure a team can have two mechs?" Toadbert asked, glancing at the toad.

"Who knows. Let's get started".

Immediately the racers encountered a problem. "We're gonna race in _that _thing!", Mario said in disbelief, pointing at the L Charger. It can't even hold two people!"

"Yes it can!", Luigi argued back, remembering how Toadiko sat in the back whilst she was his temporary mechanic while Toadbert was in hospital during the last season.

"Two _properly _sized people?"

"Sorry to break it to you, but you're no giant yourself".

Mario laughed. "But still, we'd need to install a joystick to manage our shells and other items, as well as give it a new paint job and a new name. Silver with green stripes are your colours, not mine."

"How about this: we replace the silver bits with red?"

"And make a red-green car! You know how bad it'll look!"

But they didn't have any other ideas, so they did it anyway.

* * *

><p>The Mario Bros stepped back to see their re-done machine. It didn't look as menacing, but that didn't stop it from being stunningly fast.<p>

Luigi took his brother for a test drive around Toad Town. The vehicle sped off like a Formula 1 Mushroom Car. Behind the windscreen, the Mario Bros turned and twisted around Toad Town's narrow streets, over five times the speed limit.

Luigi then led them to a deserted stretch of road on the outskirts of town, where he and his bro can start learning to co-operate. He had brought a box of green shells from the shop.

"Pretend that tree to be a kart, and whilst we're on the move try to hit it."

As they sped up, Mario took aim. But as he was preparing to fire, Luigi swerved and the shell missed by a mile.

"What was that for!", Mario snapped angrily.

"In a Mario Kart race, you don't know when you must turn", Luigi explained. "You must get used to this."

The bros tried again, Luigi swerved again, and Mario missed again.

"You know what? Teamwork isn't working for us."

Luigi didn't need his brother to state the obvious.

After more misfires, the brothers drove home dejected. Winning the cup by themselves is no problem at all, but throw them together and they just can't get it to work.

"The race is just in a couple of days. We'd better step it up."

Mario had no choice but agree.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON.**


	2. Chapter 2: Tactics and dirty tricks

Luigi tried not to glance at the thousands of spectators which had come to watch the race.

In their pit, he and his brother talked tactics. Not actual 'tactics', just arguing over who should drive and who should be the item handler.

Mario pointed out just how bad his green shell shooting was (which was very true), but Luigi was quick to retaliate, claiming that he has never used items during practice. That was also true.

Beside them were Rosalina and Lubba – which the majority of fans thought would take second place. Unfortunately, Luigi was _pretty _sure that, at the rate his team was going, they'd take first place instead.

On the other side were Bowser and Bowser Jr. – two villains notorious for their brutal and dirty racing. Luigi once again tried to settle his nerves, to no avail.

"You worried bro?", Mario said whilst leaning on the brick wall of their pit, reading a map of their circuit – Luigi Circuit. He, being a seasoned racer with many wins under his belt, didn't look worried at all.

Luigi knew that the fans expected him to shine, with this being his home ground. Toadbert and Toadofsky (as it turned out, having two mechanics were in no way illegal) tinkered on their car, parked in the middle of the pit, with a set of freshly changed tyres and a sparkling coat of paint. The racer had newly been re-christened the _Mario Bros Monster_, and had just been fitted with a new, roaring engine – the first thing on their long list of updates.

As the announcer, Lakitu, started to name the teams, Luigi's gut churned. It hurt even more when Lakitu started to remark of just how excellent their team was, when it clearly wasn't true. Mario, on the other hand, was taking it all in. Luigi was now starting to think more and more that he and his brother were, in fact, polar opposites with the only similarity being the burning desire to win.

Lakitu then went on to describe Princess Peach and Princess Daisy – team name Power Princesses.

After this was all done, Luigi knew it was time to race, but he was wrong. It was time for the pole position shootout instead.

Just like last year, when this concept was first implemented, it allowed all racers to have a chance at getting the optimum starting position – and also made it fair. Basically, all racers (or in this case, racing teams) get a chance to go around three laps and the lineup of the actual race is based around the times for each.

Luckily, Luigi knew that teamwork wasn't a crucial aspect of this one. Technically, only one racer is needed. And, sadly, since Mario was one managing the items and shooting them, _he - _Luigi -had to do the shootout for his team.

"No pressure!" Mario was cracking a joke, but Luigi failed to see the humour.

"May Team...uh...Mario Bros make their way to the starting line please." Lakitu shouldn't have bothered with the 'team' part, Luigi was this time racing solo.

Whilst going to his kart, he took in the crowd's cheers and whistles and remembered what Mario Kart was all about. The racing, the glory, the honour of being crowned champion.

But, as "Team Mario Bros" started their first shootout of the season, that honour just seemed too out of reach.

Lakitu turned up, light in hand, and Luigi all too well knew the procedure.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"GO!" On the final word, Lakitu and the audience shouted as one.

* * *

><p>Mario watched his brother start the lap and smiled. He trusted him, of course, and although there were times when they just can't hold it together, there was no-one else on the Mario Kart roster he'd rather be a team-mate with. Not even Peach. Sure, they had their arguments and differences, but what really matters is that they're mates – and, more importantly, brothers.<p>

Ever since they've ended up on the Mushroom Kingdom, they've been doing things together. He remembered – or not so much – how they've crashed landed on Yoshi's Island. From that day on, he, his brother and the rest of the crew – have often been together; looking out for each other. He remembered their adventures, their triumphs, their failures – how Peach was destined to be princess, him to be hero, and Yoshi to be...well, Yoshi.

And yet Luigi did not have time to think about memories as he twisted and turned through the course, trying to finish this. After all this time, he had gotten used to his kart – and he felt as one with it as he navigated the tricky turns and straights of Luigi Circuit. Gone were the days when he would struggle his way and finish very badly. He was a pro now, and those things just doesn't happen any more...

...when he took a turn too early and his wheels clipped grass, delaying the kart for no less than 2 seconds.

Mario was snapped back into reality from his flashback by this, as pride turned into embarrassment.

Luigi was careful not to slip up again, but it felt as if the more he concentrated, the more he felt shaken. His first and second laps have been fine, but the third...a total embarrassment.

Clipboards with notes in hand, Toadbert wobbled up to a dejected Luigi as he returned from the race into the pit, burnt rubber filling the room as the _Mario Bros Monster _went in also. He showed the green-capped Mario bro his errors and mistakes, pointing out missed turns and such, but Luigi pushed it away.

But, instead of scolding his brother, Mario wondered if he could do any better at all. He was the team's item handler, a job just as important as driving itself.

* * *

><p>As Princess Rosalina waited for Lakitu to announce the start of her turn, she couldn't stop but wonder at the first meeting between her and Mario; meeting Luigi followed immediately afterwards. She owed much to the plumber – collecting the power stars, saving the luma species, and showing her to the wide and wonderful world of the Mushroom Kingdom, complete with its events – such as Mario Kart. She remembered how unwilling she was at participating – but after much persuasion, she joined – and after that she'd never looked back. And now here was she, having the time of her life.<p>

She had newly appointed her ex-mechanic, Lubba, as item handler which meant Lumalee was now her mech. The two lumas were beside themselves with excitement, but for her, it was mostly gut-wrenching fear. This was only her second tournament, after all – even if she came third on the first.

Her racekart, the Rainbow Comet, looked like a fusion of a comet and a shooting star, with light blue mixed in with white. The vehicle's front rose up to house the cockpit, than down again, coming to an abrupt end. Carbon fibre and other light substances have been added to the vehicle's frame in order to lose some weight.

Lakitu went through his procedure again. "Three, two, one, GO!"

Rosalina sped off, eying her speedo as the red needle nudged 100. Over the straight, she went wide before cutting inside, drifting over the turn and making mincemeat of Luigi's attempt. Her every turn was flawless, and ended a with an incredible 1:58:33, smashing Luigi's by some 5 seconds.

"No offence, but maybe you should've let me race", Mario said matter-of-factly back in Luigi's pit.

"Well, we can't change this now, can we?", Luigi said. "Don't worry, like Toadsworth said, we'll have to switch our roles at the second course."

"Isn't it the new one – Moo Moo Meadows?"

"It sure is. I think it'll be easier to tackle than last year's Mushroom Gorge, but we'll see what happens. And shouldn't we be focusing on this race?"

"Yes. Of course."

* * *

><p>Unknown to the crowd, Ludwig von Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa had snuck into Bowser's and Bowser Jr.'s pit.<p>

"You know what you will do? Just like we rehearsed", Bowser grumbled. "You shunt, we win, everyone's happy. And you might even take second place!"

"But what if we are seen using the weapon? Wouldn't that disqualify us?"

"Well, that's too bad for you, ain't it?", said Bowser Jr. "This is our cup. You do what we tell you to do. End of story. Heck, we even designed the weapon for you!"

The two Koopalings looked appalled that their younger brother was starting to order them around. But they didn't say anything or rebut.

"Okay. Now go back to your pit, and pretend that nothing happened."

The Koopalings oblidged.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	3. Chapter 3: Racing, overtaking & cheating

Ten engines revved to life, filling the atmosphere with excitement. Team Mario Bros had managed a fifth place.

Lakitu reminded everyone of the starting lineup:

Bowser Beasts - Bowser and Bowser Jr.

King Koopalings - Ludwig von Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa

Power Princesses - Princess Peach and Princess Daisy

Mighty Meteors - Princess Rosalina and Lubba

Mario Bros - Mario and Luigi

Nitro Dinos - Yoshi and Birdo

Turbocharged Shrooms - Toad and Toadette

Garlic and Eggplant - Wario and Waluigi

Double DK - Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong

Super Shells - Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let the races – BEGIN!", Lakitu concluded.

* * *

><p>Bowser's team had managed to rocket start off to first place, and the Koopalings to second. Afterwards was a mass of racers and karts attempting to get third place. Amongst them was Mario and Luigi, eying Rosalina and Lubba just off the left of them.<p>

"Item box!", Luigi shouted, seeing the small screen light up. "And a green shell. Use it!"

Mario instantly, in his seat behind is brother, took control. Aiming it at Rosalina just next to them, it was a perfect hit.

"And this is the first hit of the tournament, folks. And – oh wait – there's another one!"

For Yoshi and Birdo had managed to slip off the Wario bros with an effectively placed banana.

Lakitu was speaking non-stop. "And the jostle has ended as the first corner appears. Bowser and his son in first, the impenetrable Koopalings in second, the princesses in third and the Mario bros the fourth. Then, it is Yoshi and Birdo, followed by Toad and Toadette, then Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, Wario and Waluigi, Rosalina and Lubba, and lastly Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa."

But then something bizarre happened. The Koopalings were slowing down!

"You seeing this, bro!", Luigi called to Mario, who nodded.

"And it seems, ladies and gentlemen, that the Koopalings are having engine problems! Not strange for a new kart!"

The princesses took this opportunity to overtake when –

**BANG.**

The Koopalings swung their kart at the princesses, sending them sliding off the track.

"That was deliberate!", Luigi said angrily, back in his own kart. "What the heck!"

Just then, Yoshi and Birdo zipped past them, and tried to overtake the Koopalings when –

**BANG.**

The same thing happened, sending the dinosaurs screaming off the track also.

"What are they trying to do here!", Luigi screamed to Mario.

Lakitu continued; "And another big hit! The Koopalings are no doubt lining up for another one as Bowser and Bowser Jr. continue to make ground!"

And, hearing that announcement, Luigi's brain clicked.

"Mario! Don't you see! The Koopalings aren't trying to win this tournament at all! They're ensuring that Bowser does! No wonder they signed up so suddenly! Bowser had it all planned out!"

"Calm down, bro. Speak clearly!" But then, Mario's brain clicked too.

"What do you think we should do, then!"

"Wait for someone else to overtake, and then whilst the Koopalings are occupied overtake them ourselves?"

Unfortunately, the other racers were quite content to stay in place, and the wrestle for first place had just become the wrestle for third.

"Are you seeing what's happening! The nerve of them!" Toadbert angrily shouted over the com.

"They should be disqualified!", screamed Toadofsky, equally furious. "Anyway, there's a line of item boxes coming up, we'll see what we get and plan from there."

Bowser easily nailed the first one, and the Koopalings were turning left to the second. Luigi was about to go for the third when –

"Change of plan. Forget about the item box!"

"Why! You crazy!", Luigi retorted.

"Don't you see? We can overtake them right here, right now!"

* * *

><p>Bowser Jr. spat in disgust as he prepared to radio his siblings. Somehow, they disobeyed direct orders and allowed the Mario bros to slip through. Unacceptable.<p>

His dad roared in front of him, showing him the item screen. Happily, Jr. saw that it was triple red shells.

Despite being two karts apart, Luigi heard the Koopalings' wail. He had barely the time to look at his item when the Koopalings swiped at his tailfin. A near miss.

Getting composed , Mario he threw his homing blue shell at the big Koopas.

"And it seems as if, after two laps, the Mario brothers have broken through! And, what's this? A blue shell! But is it a matter of too little, too late, with only less than one lap to go!"

It was then that Luigi remembered the time. The blue shell had hit, but Bowser and Bowser Jr. were still miles away from them.

* * *

><p>Jr. was getting confident, with triple red shells and being so far away, when a blue one came and smashed his kart into the air, knocking all his red ones loose and slamming them back onto the ground. They were still ahead, and probably would win, but it did disrupt his mood far enough to continue barking at his dad.<p>

"Shut it, son! I'm driving!" Bowser was also getting angry. The two koopas then started to lose concentration, cutting into grass on two very easy turns.

The Mario bros were starting to catch up.

"Is it just me, or are the Koopas breaking?", Luigi said, pointing over to their kart, where Bowser had narrowly missed the grass – again.

"Sure looks like it. Let's keep the pressure up!", said Mario, grinning from ear to ear.

Facing towards them was a line of item boxes. The Mario brothers managed to get one. A star! Suddenly, their kart turned rainbow colour, speeded up, and the Koopas instantly went out of the way, fearing the consequences.

By then, loss looked certain for Bowser and his son. Their green shell ricocheted twice off the walls and fell to the ground. The other one was a harmless banana.

Luigi was overconfident and absolutely screwed the last turn. When he re-gathered, the Koopas were right next to him.

"Use think we should use the weapon now?", Bowser asked his son.

"You bet." And with that, Jr. pulled a red-coloured trigger.

* * *

><p>Racing alongside them, Luigi saw the Koopas inching inside. Before long, the karts were touching, although the nose of the <em>Mario Bros Monster <em>was still quite a few centimetres in front.

Instantly sceptical of what the Koopas were planning, Luigi inched right, but they caught up alongside him again.

"What are you doing!", Luigi shouted.

Bowser Jr. grinned.

Suddenly, the _Mario Bros Monster _started to vibrate violently and all electrical systems faltered.

"What is happening!", Luigi thought despairingly. Instantly, their kart lost speed and the Koopas came away with the win. Without any source of power, it came to a shuddering halt just inches short of the finish line.

As the Koopalings blitzed past, Luigi knew, by gut instinct, what he should do.

"Get out! Lets push this kart over the line!"

"_Push? _But Mario came out also, and the brothers started to push their kart forward, just as Rosalina's team and Yoshi's team also went straight across. It was by sheer luck that they managed it before Wario's team caught up.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are witnessing history here, folks! Mario and Luigi have pushed – yes, pushed – their kart over the line!"

Luigi wiped his brow as the audience cheered. Likewise, when the Koopas started celebrating, everyone booed. There was not a single audience member who didn't think that Bowser hadn't planned something nasty.

It wasn't until afterwards that the brothers can inspect their smouldering kart.

* * *

><p>Blade marks.<p>

"Luigi! The Koopas have somehow managed to cut a hole through the base of our kart, and wrecked all the electronics! I wouldn't be surprised if there was an extendable arm, armed with a cutting blade! Thats why the edged so close to us! They didn't want the race officials to see!" Mario said from underneath the kart.

Luigi was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, two race officials – a Hammer Bro and a Toad – came up to them.

Luigi called the toad over.

"You've gotta penalise them! It was sabotage!"

Mario and Hammer Bro managed to turn the kart over.

"You see! Blatant blade marks!"

"Looks like a normal explosion to me."

Luigi couldn't believe just how stubborn the official was.

"At least check their kart! They're hiding something!"

"We've got no evidence."

"Just check!"

With that, the toad and hammer bro went over to Bowser's pit.

"Excuse me, is there a problem?", Kamek, Bowser's mechanic, asked.

"These two believe that your kart is hiding a razor blade."

Kamek put on a bewildered face. "We honestly do not believe this is possible. But to show you anyway"

On the underside was a hole with a lid.

Kamek was quick to explain. "That is nothing more than an additional opening to the car's cooling system. I'm afraid we can't show you what is in it, since we'll then lose the highly expensive coolant."

"End of investigation, then", said the toad and the hammer bro, and went away.

Bowser Jr. then walked up to Luigi.

"Nice try, _loser_."


	4. Chapter 4: Moo Moo Meadows

"Did you see what the Koopalings did?"

It was after the race, and the Mario bros were trying to find an alternate mode of transport while their toad mechanics worked on the car.

Their conversation was interrupted, however, by the scores as they flashed onto a giant screen outside the pit:

Bowser Beasts | 5

King Koopalings | 4

Mighty Meteors | 3

Nitro Dinos | 2

Mario Bros | 1

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Turbocharged Shrooms | 0

Double DK | 0

Power Princesses | 0

Super Shells | 0

"Well, if it wasn't for Bowser, we'd have taken the five points."

"Just proves you can't get all teams to race cleanly." Both brothers were still fuming at the weapon and also the stupidity of the race officials.

"Who cares about some stupid coolant? We'd be happy to pay anyway."

"Hell, I wouldn't even surprised if those two officials are being paid by Bowser behind our backs."

"And who puts a hole at the bottom of their kart anyway!"

Suddenly, the engine roared to life. Toadbert had managed to fix their kart.

"Let's get out of here."

* * *

><p>The second race, Moo Moo Meadows, came shortly afterwards, except this time it was Mario's turn to drive. The brothers had devoted the only rest day to training Luigi at the items. Most items weren't a problem, but when it came to non-homing ones, Luigi wasn't so proficient.<p>

The Mario brothers, by following their GPS, came to a very narrow, unsealed farm road which ran up a steep hill. There was no sign of civilisation anywhere.

"You sure this is the place?"

"Well, if the GPS says so..."

After going up the road for a fair amount of time, they caught sight of a large track which must be the course, and a building which must be the pits – although they looked suspiciously like horse stables.

A Shy Guy ran up to greet them. Unlike the normal robes Shy Guys wear, this one had an extremely dirty shirt, battered pants and equally filthy boots – signalling he was, no doubt, a farmer.

"Welcome, Mario brothers, welcome. This is Moo Moo Meadows. Not quite what you expected, of course, but to me this is paradise. Anyway, maybe I should not detain you any longer and let you hurry along – after all, you're late."

Bypassing a run-down farmhouse with a mushroom-inspired roof, they came to the pits, which was unsurprisingly, horse stables. Toadbert and Toadofsky (who rode in a comfortable trailer towed to the kart) ran down and inspected the area.

"Yuck! How the heck are we meant to service the kart in this place!", Toadbert said angrily. "And obviously those are horse droppings."

He pointed to a pile of brown goo.

"And it pongs!", Toadofsky agreed.

Princess Peach and Princess Daisy, who had the pit/stable next to them, came over for a quick discussion. They were, too, appalled by the conditions.

"Not quite the pits we're used to, huh? You're one is actually a bit better, our one was used to stack hay. The ground is littered with it!"

"At least it doesn't have droppings", said Toadbert, pointing to the pile.

At that, the princesses left.

* * *

><p>Two monty moles – farm hands, no doubt, complete with work pants and cowboy boots, showed the racers to the track. The Mario brothers were starting in fifth, due to their poor performance last time. Luigi was item handler and sat behind Mario.<p>

The Lakitu had apparently flied all this way, just to start off the race, utilised his signal. There was no spectators – just a handful of news reporters, one if which Luigi recognised as the crew of InterKingdom News, Channel 173, which humiliated him last year.

Red. On your parks.

Yellow. Get set.

Green. GO!

Whilst Luigi was a great racer, Mario was in a whole different league. He nailed the rocket start perfectly.

"Damn! I can't see!" For the racers in front of them were kicking up dust from their wheels.

"Well, we've just got to improvise, then. Look, the Nitro Dinos are already challenging the second-placed Koopalings!"

Just as last time, they shunted them back, although luckily not with so much force.

Soon, it came to the first row of item boxes. Bowser had a green shell which he threw, the Koopalings also disposed of their item, the bob-omb (not daring to use it against their so-called 'teammates'). The third then belonged to the Nitro Dinos, which got a blooper, inflicting absolutely no damage.

It was then a tight turn, which all navigated comfortably. Mario noticed the Mighty Meteors (Rosalina and Lubba, the latter who was driving this time) inching up on them, and swerved, forcing them backwards.

"Pretty good, huh?", Mario said with a grin. It was perfectly executed.

"Yup. But you've gotta get me some items, cause I'm just sitting over here!" He threw up his hands, further conveying the message.

"Got it."

With that, Mario saw the Nitro Dinos turn a bit too widely and he gunned it. Their driver, Birdo (as Yoshi drove last time) saw what was happening and pushed them. Mario pushed back. But then Mario smartly braked a tiny bit – just enough not to lose ground – and the Nitro Dinos turned off the track, surprised at what happened. Once again, perfectly executed.

"You're a great driver, bro!"

"I didn't win twenty Mario Kart tournaments for nothing, heh!"

* * *

><p>There was no item boxes for quite some time after that, so it was driving skill alone that determined the Mario brothers' fate. Racing just behind the Koopalings, the Turbocharged Shrooms (Toad and Toadette) and the Mighty Meteors were doing the same, no-one daring to overtake. It was a strange feeling.<p>

Bowser and Bowser Jr. continued to speed ahead. Their tactic was working, and they were immensely proud.

"I can see the cup within our reach now!", said Jr., who was driving this time.

"Don't get too cocky, son. We still have to race, the Koopalings might slip up again."

"Oh, yeah. Like letting the Mario bros get through."

"Yeah. Like that. Anyway, there's a line of item boxes coming up."

As Bowser Jr. got the first (mushroom, which propelled them further ahead), the Koopalings went for the second. The Mario brothers, Turbocharged Shrooms and Mighty Meteors went for the third – but due to his sheer expertise, it was Mario who got it. _Triple red shells_.

Everyone else was racing way too close and so the Meteors, Shrooms and Koopalings were out of it before Luigi had time to react. "Yes!", they screamed together, punching their fists in the air. They had broken Bowser's first line of defence.

As the second lap ended and the third and final one started, the Mario brothers were looking way better. They've since dodged two green shells and even a red one, and, thanks to a golden mushroom, the Koopas were just in front.

Bowser Jr. had a tantrum. This was happening all over again. "Dad, ready the weapon. Those pesky plumbers aren't getting through us!"

And with that, the red trigger was being held again. The extendable blade went out of the hole that supposedly housed coolant.

* * *

><p>"Bro, there is still a row of item boxes to go. Let's wait for them first, we don't want to gamble with their nasty weapon again", said Luigi, looking at his map.<p>

As the row of item boxes loomed ahead, the two big Koopas got a banana, which they threw at nothing in particular. While the Mario brothers got...triple green shells.

"Ready, set, fire!", Mario commanded, as Luigi pressed the launch button. The first one veered slightly off to the left.

"Don't worry, bro! Keep your cool!", was Mario's response, as it was now the home straight. The unsealed, rocky road of Moo Moo Meadows further complicated Luigi's target.

He pressed the launch button. The green shell hit...

...

...nothing. This time, it was off to the _right_.

"That's all right! You've still got one more!"

The finish line inched ever-so-nearer.

Luigi fired his last shell. This one didn't look like missing at all...

...

...but it did. The Bowsers lazily crossed the line in first place.

"NO!" Luigi screamed as they got a second.

Afterwards, it was the Koopalings (who had shoved their racing rivals out of the way), followed by the Mighty Meteors, the Turbocharged Shrooms, Double DK (Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong), Power Princesses, Nitro Dinos, Garlic and Eggplant and finally the Super Shells (Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa).

* * *

><p>As Luigi punched the wheel in sheer disgust, Lakitu announced the scores. They were as follows:<p>

Bowser Beasts | 10

King Koopalings | 7

Mario Bros | 5

Mighty Meteors | 5

Nitro Dinos | 2

Turbocharged Shrooms | 1

Double DK | 0

Power Princesses | 0

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Super Shells | 0

The Bowsers' dirty tricks had worked. They were still in first place, and, this time, they didn't have to utilise their weapon either.

As a dejected Luigi walked back to the pits, Mario left the other celebrating racers and joined his brother.

"You still upset over your shells?"

"Yup. Seriously, the last shell was so close!"

"But the Koopas dodged yet. That's too bad. Do not let it affect your driving next time. After all, now we must get serious. We're here to win."

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	5. Chapter 5: The mysterious saboteur

"What is the next race, Mario?" Luigi lazily plopped down onto the couch, too exhausted after the race and the drive back home to do anything.

"It is Peach Beach. A classic course, and one that has just been re-vamped."

He remembered the troubles resident cataquacks gave him last time – one of the more primitive species of the Mushroom Kingdom. Not really the kingdom, since it was located on Isle Delfino.

"I remember Coconut Mall from last year. That was a good race." Luigi remembered how he took first place in the second race of the Shell Cup.

Mario was busy on his laptop. "Here. Official site and description of the track."

With that, an image of Princess Peach filled the screen, with a backdrop behind her filled with water and blissful sand. The two pink words read the course's name, and was positioned in front.

There was also a shortcut on the track. The catch is that it can only be accessed when the tide is low. If it is high, the water would prove to be a great hindrance – if the kart doesn't sink, that is.

* * *

><p>One day later, and the Mario bros were making their way to Toad Town Airport. A small plane had 'Delfino Holidays Airlines' painted on its side, and stood near the gate. The Princesses and the Mighty Meteors had already lined up.<p>

"It's that flight again? Bugger."

Luigi wasn't pleased with the trip last year.

They approached two goombas at the check-in gate.

"Go away, the plane is full", one said menacingly.

The brothers glanced at each other. "But thats impossible! We're booked for this flight!" With that, they showed the Goombas their ticket.

The Goombas had no choice but to let them in. "You sure this is your flight?", he said, with a look of confusion on his face.

"Yes", Mario responded. Afterwards, one Goomba pressed a button with his giant feet and the gate opened.

As the brothers made their way over to the rather unattractive mushroom-shaped plane, two burly Sledge Bros blocked their path. One tried to take hold of Mario.

"Hey, back off! What do you think you're doing!"

The Sledge Bros wore black suits with black ties, and also black sunglasses. Their black bowler hats had a silver Bowser icon imprinted on it. Their suits had a clip which read 'KOOPA TROOP'.

"Master Bowser had instructed us to keep you off the plane."

"Not bloody likely!"

"Oh, no? Try us."

Mario threw himself at the bigger one. The sledge bro easily took advantage of the plumber, throwing him down with brute force. Mario was taken by shock, and failed to react as the sledge bro punched him ferociously. Luigi intervened, choking the sledge bro around the neck and then kicking at his unprotected groin.

The sledge bro stuttered backwards, wailing in pain, and Luigi started to advance. The other one than rugby-tackled Luigi, head-butting him, and they smashed through the glass walls and fell onto the tarmac.

Luigi, covered with bruises, tried to lift the sledge bro off, and managed to free himself from the powerful hands. The sledge bro, mad with anger, tried to knock Luigi off, but the police arrived with mushroom stun-guns, and the two big offenders ran off.

Luigi was just starting to take in what happened when the plane started to taxi onto the runway. "Mario!", Luigi called, and his brother jumped down onto the tarmac also and they began to run after it.

"I wonder (puff) why (puff) Bowser would (puff) try to (puff) stop (puff) us!", Luigi said between breaths.

"They're scared! Scared that we might take the trophy!"

"Honestly, is the Mario Kart trophy that valuable!"

But then the engines went to full thrust and, knocking the Mario brothers backwards, it took off.

"NO!", Mario yelled, but it was too late.

* * *

><p>Bowser and Bowser Jr. glanced at the two empty seats next to them and laughed maniacally. Their plan had worked.<p>

Toadsworth walked down the aisle, cane in hand. He stopped when he noticed the empty seats.

"Where are the Mario brothers?", he thought aloud. "Why aren't they here? I saw them at the airport just moments ago."

Bowser and Bowser Jr. tensed up. Toadsworth asked an air stewardess as to why they took off without their passengers.

"Mario brothers? There must be a mistake. Those two seats were booked for Sledge Bro businessmen. Unfortunately, they never turned up."

Toadsworth looked bewildered. "Never turned up! Those aren't their seats! Turn this plane around immediately!"

"But sir, you can't just-"

"Yes I can!" Toadsworth showed the stewardess his identification card. With that, the stewardess had to comply.

* * *

><p>Mario and Luigi couldn't believe their luck when the plane turned back towards the airport. Minutes later, they were sitting in their rightful seats.<p>

"Why would those two Koopas be so pissed at us? They're top of the ladder, after all."

Luigi was left to wonder the same thing. "Well, obviously they are scared."

Just then, the airplane began its descent to the island. Isle Delfino, as its name suggests, is shaped like a magnificent dolphin. It was a popular tourist resort as well as a tropical paradise. Although in recent years species such as Toads, Yoshis and others have taken up residence, the majority of the population still consisted of the two native tribes, namely the Piantas and the Nokis.

Delfino Airstrip looming overhead, the plane lowered its landing gear with a powerful jolt and, when its wheels touched the tarmac, it started to lose speed. Upon landing, the door opened and everyone poured out.

Bowser roughly shoved Luigi in the face, knocking him down and starting a chain reaction as racers behind him fell down also.

"What was that for!", said Mario angrily, stepping between his brother and the monster.

"Because we don't like you, we hate you and we want you to get lost. And that is exactly what'll happen at the race today."

* * *

><p>Soon after, a bulky cargo plane landed with the racing karts all neatly parked inside. A Shy Guy mechanic started to unload them, one by one.<p>

"Our kart has been messed with!", Toadbert accused angrily.

"Whoa, calm down dude, you had me scared there", said Toadofsky, waddling over.

"Don't You see! Our electric wires have all been cut and our fuel tank emptied!"

Luigi called for the Shy Guy, but he was already starting to run away.

Princess Rosalina and Lubba came over. They had an angry look on their faces.

"Luigi! You won't believe what happened to our kart, someone has removed our steering wheel!"

"Well, check this out, our electronics are gone and our fuel also", Luigi replied.

Yoshi and Birdo also joined the conversation.

"Yoshi angry! Yoshi chassis bent!"

"Our windscreen has somehow cracked!", hollered an angry Waluigi.

It was then that everyone realised that their karts weren't the only ones to be damaged. Well, not everyone – most of the lower-profile teams had survived, as well as Bowser's team and the Koopalings.

Toad pointed a stubby finger towards them. "They have done this. They've sabotaged our karts!"

Mario and Luigi then proceeded to narrate their troubles with the sledge bros, causing the group to be more bewildered.

"Bowser is trying to kick us out of the competition. He doesn't care about the risks, he just wants us gone", concluded an angry Luigi.

Luigi than remembered what Bowser Jr. told him when they left the plane.

"Man, it'll take a miracle for us to just take part today." The other teams agreed.


	6. Chapter 6: Peach Beach

Whilst Yoshi looked for a chassis, Waluigi for a windscreen and Princess Rosalina for a steering wheel, Luigi and his brother went for electric wiring plus fuel, keeping a watchful eye on the clock with stated there was only one hour left before the race.

The fruitless search continued until they stumbled upon a shop with a cardboard sign which read 'EL CHEAPO MECHANICS'. A shifty-looking Pianta with a shirt covered in grease offered them a wiring package plus a barrel of fuel for eight hundred dollars. Luigi didn't trust this guy, but what choice did he have? And so, after making sure the items actually worked, he payed and then they headed off.

The Mario brothers gave the wires to the toads, who then started to get them on the kart. There was a dangerous moment when the wires didn't look like fitting, but Toadbert, with his engineering prowess, easily found a way around that.

Soon after, Garlic and Eggplant (team name of Wario and Waluigi) returned, and the purple-hatted plumber supported his gold counterpart as he lowered the windscreen in. The Mighty Meteors were next, with a state-of-the-art steering wheel, and the Nitro Dinos had no problem getting a strong, durable chassis.

* * *

><p>Lakitu floated onto the track. The Mario Bros were starting in second (due to their finish last race), the Bowsers in first and the Koopalings behind them. He signalled the start of the race, and almost everyone got a rocket start. Luigi, who was driving, dodged a swipe from the Koopalings and got an item box.<p>

He positioned his banana on the back of his kart, and the Koopalings, who were coming back for another try, span out.

The racers then exited the stony pavement they were driving on, and came to the actual beach. Bowser had has path blocked by two cataquacks and the Mario brothers came in first.

Taking the shortcut was out of the question, with the tide being much higher than usual. Palm trees surrounded them. Dodging a couple more cataquacks, a trio of item boxes were in front of them. Luigi found another banana.

"Red shell!" Mario warned. Luigi turned, effectively dodging the red shell (thrown by Bowser Jr.), but made them give up their first place. Racing behind the big Koopas on the beach, the Koopalings (which were coming in third), used their mushroom to blast them right beside the Mario brothers.

Going wide for a ram, Luigi didn't want to give up another place and so he countered it with his own swipe. The Koopalings were not expecting this, and instantly braked.

"Fight fire with fire, as I always say", Luigi chuckled. Mario gave him a pat on the back; even he was impressed.

A final set of item boxes came up overhead, followed by the stone pavement which led off the beach. The Bowsers found themselves with a lightning. The Mario bros found a star.

Mario utilised his item first, preventing the lightning bolt from hitting him. The Koopalings had nothing more than a green shell which easily missed.

Turning up onto the pavement, the racers came to the town square where a hoard of Piantas and Nokis were cheering. A Pianta-shaped fountain was shooting water from its mouth. The buildings which surrounded the square were not mushroom-shaped like those in the Mushroom Kingdom, instead opting for a more traditional approach.

After that, the stone pathway let them onto the beach again, at the start of Lap 2. Mario fired his red shell, which the Koopas blocked with their green one whilst the Koopalings were dangerously close again.

The cataquacks were too primitive to watch the race, and were, to the racers' relief, now splashing around in the sea. Luigi saw the tide go out, and the window of opportunity to use the shortcut open.

The Bowsers had decided to play safe. But Luigi absolutely gunned it, and, after a narrow strip of sand came to a ramp which blasted them onto an island, whose second strip would lead them back onto the beach. But the waters were closing in.

The tide was now agonisingly close, and, before they knew it, their tyres were treading water.

"We're gonna sink!" wailed Luigi.

"Keep your eyes on the road!", retorted Mario.

They exited the strip just in time, a couple of metres in front of the Bowsers. Bowser, who was driving, had no choice but follow behind as they went onto the stone pavement once more.

"Dad! What the hell are you doing!", Jr. screamed to his father.

Bowser, who saw a tantrum coming on, wasted time in settling his son back onto his seat. As the third and final lap started, the Bowsers were on the verge of panicking.

"Wanna try and risk the weapon?", asked a hopeful Jr.

"Whilst they are in front of us? Nope, far too risky. Let's see how the tide goes and see if the shortcut is open."

But the tide had completely sealed it off. The first row of item boxes gave the Mario bros a useless shell, the Bowsers a banana which they laid, and the Koopalings a fake item box.

Then, sometime after, was the second row. The Mario brothers retained their lead via their mushroom. The Bowsers got the same.

At the third and final row, the Mario bros found a bob-omb, useless on this occasion. Whilst the Koopas got..._triple green shells_.

The Bowsers had no time in throwing the first shell, which blatantly missed. "Steady, son", Bowser warned.

Back in his own kart, Luigi braced himself for the second launch. Mario could only give feeble bits of advice from behind him.

"Don't blow this now!", said Mario, as the Bowsers fired their second. It missed, but sent a couple of spectators diving for cover.

The third one was then launched. It zoomed up. The stone pathway was way too narrow for the Mario brothers to dodge.

Closer...closer...impact.

The Bowsers cheered as they crossed over the line in first place...again.

But Toadsworth, in his presidential balcony, had a different point of view.

He shouted to a toad cameraman to zoom in on the Mario brothers' kart. After some close inspection, it was found that the left front wheel was just _two millimetres over the line!_

The Mario bros had won!

* * *

><p>A sweaty and angry Luigi threw down his trademark cap, with sweat running down his face, and went over to his drink bottle. Taking a satisfying mouthful, he screwed on the lid again and walked towards Toadbert.<p>

"Ah well, that was a close one!", said the toad, just as annoyed. He, too, had no idea of their actual position, and had assumed that they got a third (with the Koopalings crossing the line).

Toadofsky muttered a few choice words under his breath.

The Mario brothers than heard a series of pants drawing nearer to their pit. It belonged to a Koopa Troopa, dressed in the trademark Mario Kart golden official shirt.

"We just wanted to tell you, since you might be mistaken", said the Koopa between puffs, "you have won." He then comically took out his own water bottle and had a resounding gulp.

"We..._won_?", asked Luigi. "YES!"

Mario came over, the toads too, and a major celebration got started.

* * *

><p>A near-identical Koopa Troopa was sent to tell Bowser and Bowser Jr. the same news.<p>

"What!", screamed an angry Jr., and the poor Koopa had to duck to avoid a projectile.

Later, it was ceremony. The Mushroom Cup had finished – one third of the Mario Kart tournament was over. But the Mario brothers knew that the real challenge – Rainbow Road – was still ahead.

Some toads had managed to drag a heavy scoreboard over. The scores were shown, and they were as follows:

1. Bowser Beasts | 14

2. King Koopalings | 10

3. Mario Bros | 10

4. Mighty Meteors | 6

5. Nitro Dinos | 4

6. Turbocharged Shrooms | 1

7. Double DK | 0

8. Power Princesses | 0

9. Garlic and Eggplant | 0

10. Super Shells | 0

The Nitro Dinos had managed a 4th and the Mighty Meteors a 5th, respectively. Next was the Power Princesses, but they claimed no points.

A mushroom-themed float went down the street. On top of it was a toad dressed smartly in a black suit and bow-tie, followed by a hoard of Koopa Troopa girls in tight skirts with pink pom-poms on their hands. Trailing behind the float was the Shy Guy marching band, and finally some Magikoopas putting on a firework display, shooting sparks out of their wands.

The Mario Brothers looked on in awe at the celebrations. With the Mushroom Cup over, they didn't know to be happy or sad. The first race of the Shell Cup would be a portion of Mushroom City titled Moonview Highway. Everyone knew that Mushroom City was the largest city in the kingdom.

But they didn't think about this just now. The hardcore rock band, Mushroomhead Numbskulls, were performing on a makeshift stage and the Mario bros were, like everyone else, shouting out the lyrics.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	7. Chapter 7: Welcome to Moonview Highway

Mario and Luigi looked at the skyscrapers and shopping centres around them. It was almost eight at night, but this didn't stop the shoppers. Neon lights shone brightly, casting a dazzling glow over the wide pathway and the aroma of restaurants beckoned shoppers towards them. For the two plumbers, who were used to the narrow, neat streets and mushroom-shaped cream-coloured buildings of Toad Town, this was an entirely different world.

Following their map, they came to all tall, orient-styled bridge, and tons of cars and semi-trailer trucks rushed underneath them. Mario and Luigi knew that this was where they were to race.

"Pretty beautiful, huh?", said Mario, taking a breath of the night air.

"It sure is." Luigi replied. "But it's time to find a hotel."

The Mario brothers set off.

* * *

><p>The highway had been shut for the pole position shootout of the Shell Cup, causing the residents heaps of trouble, but Mario Kart was the most important. Following the finishing order of the last race, the Mario brothers raced first. It was a relief to Luigi to find that it was Mario who must race at this shootout.<p>

The pits of the course were actually a spare garage on the edge of the highway. Rusted, battered and made of iron, it looked out of place next to the sleek lines of the city. However, the course itself started on a highway at its outskirts, before going to the centre, forming an oval of road.

It was the end of the shootout, and Mario had managed a very decent second (he would've come in first if it wasn't for a failed rocket start, caused by an oversight by Toadbert). The Bowsers, in their spiked kart, were starting in front of them. The _Mario Bros Monster _looked positively puny compared to the monster-truck like Koopa King, but it did not matter.

After Lakitu signalled the start of the race, the Koopalings behind them instantly gained ground. Storming up alongside the Mario bros, they aggressively forced their way to second place – Mario had to let them, or else they would be shunted out.

The Bowsers got a mushroom, the Koopalings a green shell and the Mario brothers a bob-omb. Luigi eagerly fired the walking bomb slingshot-style ahead of him, knocking the Koopalings back in an almighty blast.

The course than proceeded to a bridge which led into the city. The Bowsers took the centre, riding on the two white lines on the road. Mario and Luigi were right behind them; nipping at their heels.

Meanwhile, just behind them, the Koopalings have started a rampage by ramming the Turbocharged Shrooms and Mighty Meteors out of the way. Before long, they were starting to challenge the Mario bros once again.

"I can't keep this up!", shouted a frustrated Mario. "This is madness!"

Luigi was also anxious. Thanks to the Koopalings, which had Mario occupied, the Bowsers were starting to inch ahead.

The last strip of highway had ended, and ahead was a line of toll booths. The toad operators raised the bars one by one to let the racers through. All attempted to get the innermost one – much shuffling happened at the lower end of the race, as some racers have been unfortunate enough to crash right into them.

Going down the eight-lane road, with buildings all around them, the charm of Mushroom City certainly was memorising. Mario still kept the concentration up, though, and as the Bowsers took one turn a bit too wide he tried to cut into the front.

The Bowsers, however, slammed their kart into the _Mario Bros Monster_, pushing it against a wall. The Bowsers upped the horsepower and soon the pressure was too much for the Mario bros' kart to handle.

"The doors are crumpling!", said Luigi. "Help! Help! Help!"

Mario ignored Luigi's agonising screams. The Nitro Dinos had now overtaken the Bowsers, with the Koopalings trying to knock them off, but the Bowsers didn't seem to care. All they wanted at that moment was to finish off the Mario bros for once and for all.

Smoke had started to slowly fill the cabin. The Bowsers continued to push against the Mario bros, but as the 7th-placed Double DK (Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong) overtook also, the Bowsers just had to give up.

As the grinding stopped, the smoke grew thicker. It was now the start of a tunnel, and they narrowly missed a pole.

"I will not lose, dammit!", shouted Mario. When the windows refused to open, Mario grabbed a hammer and blasted a hole in its side. For a moment, Luigi thought that his brother had finally got insane.

In the tunnel there was another line of item boxes, but they of course had already been taken. Luckily for them, the Bowsers had started to clear their path, knocking the Power Princesses out. As the tunnel ended, Double DK and Garlic 'n' Eggplant were also out of the way. The Bowsers were now coming in 4th, with only the Nitro Dinos (3rd), Koopalings (2nd) and Mighty Meteors (1st) stood in their way. The Mario bros were managing a 5th.

Another line of tollbooths came and went, and soon it was the start of the second lap. Yoshi and Birdo were keen to avoid the Koopas and turned out, but went back in again before the Mario bros could take advantage.

"Not now!", said Mario, and went left and right, confusing the dinosaurs. As they went way right (to avoid an overtake which they thought would happen), Mario thrust his kart in the opposite direction. 4th.

"Bravo, Mario!", said Luigi, clapping.

* * *

><p>Because they were coming in fourth, the Mario bros missed the line of item boxes but eventually it would do more good than harm. As the Koopalings made way for their 'teammates', the Bowsers got a star and smashed off the Mighty Meteors.<p>

Of course, the Koopalings refused to let the Mario bros pass but since the Mighty Meteors had gotten further behind, they moved up to 3rd. Over the bridge and into the tunnel, and Mario started to frantically turn left and right again – trying to shake off the Koopalings like they did to the Nitro Dinos – to no avail. Soon the second line of item boxes came, and the Mario bros got a green shell.

Luigi, who finally could get a dose of the action, aimed his stick at the Koopalings and clicked 'FIRE'. It was a perfect hit. 2nd.

With only the Bowsers in front of them, the second line of tollbooths past and soon it was the third and final lap. The race had, once again, turned into a two-horse race.

The first row of boxes hid a fake item box for the Bowsers (which Mario did not fall for, of course) whilst the Mario brothers got...a _bob-omb_.

"Ready!", said Mario. Luigi fired the bob-omb like a slingshot. The Bowsers turned to avoid, but the blast was just too large.

"Oh, yeah!"

It was now the end of the tunnel and with the finish line just in front, the audience was captivated – for no-one knew who would win.

The Bowsers had crept up to the point where they were right beside the Mario bros.

"Ready. The. Weapon!", commanded Bowser Jr., and his father started to utilise it.

"They're using the weapon against us!", spat Luigi.

But Mario had spotted a flaw in the Bowsers' plan. Since they had to stick close for their weapon to work, they were pushing against the kart so much that when Mario braked slightly, they span out easily.

The Mario bros won.

* * *

><p>"Holy fire flower!" said Toadofsky. The two doors of the kart have been dented by the Bowsers' push on the first lap, and of course there was the hole in the windscreen.<p>

"This'll take some time to fix", Toadbert admitted.

Lakitu was announcing the finishing lineup.

"Number 1: Mario bros!"

The plumbers patted themselves on the back as the audience cheered.

"Number 2: Bowser Beasts!"

The Koopas were not satisfied.

"Number 3: King Koopalings! Number 4: Turbocharged Shrooms! Number 5: Mighty Meteors! Number 6: Nitro Dinos! Number 7: Power Princesses! Number 8: Garlic and Eggplant! Number 9: Double DK! Number 10: Super Shells!"

Then it was the scores:

Bowser Beasts | 18

Mario Bros | 15

King Koopalings | 13

Mighty Meteors | 7

Nitro Dinos | 4

Turbocharged Shrooms | 3

Power Princesses | 0

Double DK | 0

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Super Shells | 0

The Mario bros were relatively satisfied, but they knew they still had a lot of work to do – the Bowsers were still leading them. The next race was the highly challenging DK Summit.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	8. Chapter 8: Mayhem on the Mountain

DK Summit was unique in two ways. Firstly, it was a departure from the typical course owned by Donkey Kong: instead of being located deep in jungle, with vines and konga drums, it was situated on the magnificent, snow-topped Mount DK – the highest mountain in the Mushroom Kingdom. Normally, it acts as a tourist resort, complete with log cabins and ski lifts – but in the winter, it turns into one of the most extreme Mario Kart courses around.

Despite his warm, green-striped jacket and multiple layers of clothing, Luigi still shivered. Heavy snow was falling and snow ploughs were forced to keep the track open. Mario, who was equally cold, came over.

"L-Luigi! T-This is a p-pretty d-difficult course!"

Just then a heavy blizzard interrupted their conversation.

Unlike a conventional race circuit, racers start at the bottom of the track before entering a specially-designed cannon, whose purpose was to fire karts to the very top. Afterwards, when three descents have been completed the race is finished.

Toadbert and Toadofsky were busy fitting winter tyres to the _Mario Bros Monster _– wheels with spikes to ensure the kart can still get adequate grip in the heavy snow. The blizzard severely hindered their progress.

The pits were made of mountain logs and were shaped like a roundhouse, with a huge campfire in the middle. This at least partly warmed the mechs, but not too much.

Toadbert, huddled in a light blue jacket, came over.

"The engine isn't starting. It is just too cold."

Beside them, a sickening groan told the brothers that the Power Princesses were also having starting problems.

* * *

><p>As Lakitu signalled the start, the racers blasted off in a blur of colour. As Mario and Luigi approached the cannon, it sucked them in and before they knew it they were flying through the air.<p>

"Wheeeeee-hooooo!", said Luigi, putting his hands in the air.

Mario was about to agree when they crashed down into a half-pipe. Soon was an adrupt turn, and Luigi rocketed up the side of the structure to land in front of the Bowsers. Next was a potholed section of track, filled with ramps; Luigi tried his best to use the ramps in order to avoid the holes, whilst the Bowsers steamrollered straight through.

Then there was two tight u-turns. Luigi gambled and flung his kart off and onto the lower section, further increasing their lead. His route took him over a stretch of canyon, filled with nasty spikes – if they'd landed down there, they'd be goners.

"Seriously bro, I'm a twenty-time Mario Kart champion and I'd never do that!", said Mario, just as Luigi jutted his kart out a second time.

"Don't be a coward!", joked Luigi. Mario was too surprised to be provoked at the insult. Afterwards was a huge downwards slope straight to the bottom – and the Mario bros took their first item box.

"Banana!", said Luigi to Mario. Mario pressed the trigger and the yellow skin was laid.

After the slope there was a wooden path. By then, the blizzard had ended and the wonderful sunshine had come out – and Luigi saw a huge grandstand made of pine filled to the brim with spectators – Toads and Koopas, Hammer Bros and Goombas, Shy Guys and Crazyee Dayzees, Monty Moles and Doogans, Boos and Piantas, Yoshis and Birdos – Luigi was very surprised to see a few Twilight Towners also cheering – since the species often kept to themselves.

As the track led them back to the starting line, the enraged Bowsers were starting to gain on the Mario bros. The big Koopas were right behind as they sailed through the cannon; flanked by Bowser's offspring: the Koopalings.

It was now Lap 2 and the halfpipe section had started. Drifting their kart like a sledge, the Bowsers found themselves to the left of the Mario bros whilst the Koopalings went to the right.

"Is it just me who has a bad feeling about this?", gulped Luigi. Mario nodded silently.

_Both _the Bowsers and the Koopalings yanked on their levers, and Luigi was sure that the weapons could start any moment now. But then, there was a faint-ray of hope – item boxes.

As the blades of the weapons starting spinning, Luigi was just one turn away.

As the blades starting going upwards to the bottom of the _Mario Bros Monster_, Luigi had got the box. Triple green shells.

The two karts all got blasted away. The Mario bros had survived this encounter intact.

Of course, this was now the downward slope and soon it gave way to the wooden path again. Past the finish line and the cannon, and, as the Bowsers just couldn't catch up again the brothers made it to the home straight...

...where a blue shell blasted them up. The Bowsers came first. Mario, angered, revved up the engine, but...

...a red shell also came, spinning them out again! This time, not only did the Koopalings get a second, the Nitro Dinos also slipped in for a third.

* * *

><p>The cold was the least of their problems as the Mario bros were huddled next to the other racers. Toad and Toadette were also wearing winter jackets, and Wario bros had several layers of usual clothes. Princess Rosalina wore a cyan fur coat, but for Yoshi and Birdo, catching the flu was completely irrelevant – and so they only wore snow boots.<p>

Lakitu floated onto the wooden stage. He too was all wrapped up, and his cloud was having a hard time keeping him up – dipping from side to side, the floating Koopa looked as if he was about to fall on a couple of occasions.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!", he said, pausing for dramatic effect, "the second race of the Shell Cup has ended!"

"Yeah yeah, blah blah, we know this crap", said Wario. "Just skip to the important bits!"

"And so, as you are all gathered here, I would proceed to tell you the lineups and scores!"

"Cut to the chase, and be quick with it!", snapped Waluigi.

"First, it is Bowser and Bowser Jr. – the Bowser Beasts!"

A deafening roar filled the racers' ears. It was, of course, Bowser and son celebrating.

"Second, Ludwig von Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa – the King Koopalings!"

Some laughed, due to their bad team name.

"Third, Yoshi and Birdo – the Nitro Dinos!"

"Yo-SHI! Yo-SHI!", said Yoshi happily. Birdo grunted a few times.

"Fourth, Mario and Luigi – the...erm...Mario Bros!"

Lakitu's stutter had everyone laughing. "You call that a team name!", heckled Bowser Jr.

"Fifth, Princess Rosalina and Lubba – the Mighty Meteors! Sixth, Toad and Toadette – Turbocharged Shrooms! Seventh, Princess Peach and Princess Daisy – the Power Princesses! Eighth is Double DK! Ninth is Garlic and Eggplant! Tenth are the Super Shells!"

The scores than showed, and they were as follows:

Bowser Beasts | 23

King Koopalings | 17

Mario Bros | 17

Mighty Meteors | 8

Nitro Dinos | 7

Turbocharged Shrooms | 3

Power Princesses | 0

Double DK | 0

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Super Shells | 0

* * *

><p>The Mario brothers walked back to their comfortable log cabins, the opportunity to light the furnace and making some heat was very inviting. Heavy shoes crunching in the snow, the two plumbers walked side by side, whilst their two mechanics were still in the relatively warm pit – they'd have to finish with the post-race mechanic work and then drive the <em>Mario Bros Monster <em>back.

Soon, they'd got out their heavy suitcases and are stuffing things inside.

"I can't wait to get back to Toad Town", grumbled Luigi, as he stuffed some woollen socks inside.

"Now? I was hoping to stay behind for a bit of skiing."

"_Skiing_? You can't be serious, bro." Luigi still had vivid memories of skating on some of the more frozen galaxies – such as Freezeflame Galaxy, Freezy Flake Galaxy and others – and he absolutely hated them. Mario, on the other hand, loved those missions the most.

"Anyway, you can't", Luigi continued. "The Mario Kart bus is coming to pick us up and then it is straight to the airport."

"Who said we _have _to be on the bus?"

Luigi started to open his mouth to retort when Toadbert ran into the room. His face was a deep red, despite the cold.

"Luigi! Some of the kart's systems are busted. It is because of the cold, I think. We'll miss the bus. Well, at least we can ski now, I've always wanted to do that, ya know."

"Count me in too!", said an equally eager Toadofsky.

Luigi couldn't believe it. Mario, meanwhile, was already reaching for his skiing gear.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	9. Chapter 9: A skiing trip

Luigi, Mario and the two toad mechs were sitting on one of the resort's more luxurious ski-lifts, an aerial tramway, but the lack of heaters and the open windows did nothing to help the unbearable cold, made even worse by another sudden appearance of blizzard.

"I was thinking of tackling Unpassable Pass," said Mario. Unpassable Pass was the toughest and hardest course around.

"You know, there's a reason why its called _Unpassable _Pass," said Luigi. He had, after much encouragement, borrowed a set of skiing gear from the local shop – it bore a navy blue colour scheme. But still, he was staring glumly out the window.

"I beg to differ", said Toadbert. "After all, we're Team Mario Bros..."

"...Number 1!", finished Toadofsky. The two toads high-fived each other.

A clang at the cables above told the brothers they've arrived at their destination. From there, they would have to cross the Ski Cafe, and go on another ski-lift all the way to Unpassable Pass.

A toad operator told them to step down from the lift, and they entered the cafe. The sweet smell of coffee and also the bakery located in it drew Luigi closer. Many skiers were huddled inside the building.

"Come on, Luigi!", tugged his bro, and they led him to the second lift. This one was much simpler: it was merely a chair with a couple of strings and harnesses supporting it to an overhead cable. Still moving, the four plumbers and toads managed to get a seat.

It seemed as if the further up, the more intense the snow became. The wind howled like a deranged monster. The bros had to change their familiar caps for beanies. After a long trip, they finally came to the ski-lift's end – there was no operator there, just a plain of snow and the start of the pass was right beside it. It was a huge plunge, with pine trees on either side.

Mario and the two toads all too easily took off down the mountain, but Luigi had to reason with himself. Soon, he was rocketing down the mountain side at breakneck speed, with pine trees and flags around him.

_Hmmmm, maybe skiing isn't so bad_, Luigi thought. _I'm actually really enjoying this_!"

Suddenly, five Shy Guys in a bobsled raced past just inches away from the plumber, shoving snow in his face.

"Watch it!", Luigi shouted, shaking a fist. Unfortunately, this motion made him lose balance and topple over...at 150km/h.

It hurt. A lot.

Luigi screamed as he hurtled off the track and into the forest. Leaves brushing past him, he saw a rock protruding out of the snow and he tried to go another way. There was impact, and then unbearable pain.

* * *

><p>"Race ya to the bottom", screamed Toadbert in Mario's face.<p>

"You're on!", Mario challenged back, and the two raced down, turning with the track, Toadofsky right behind them.

"This is the life!", shouting Mario gleefully. Toadbert zipped past him at lightning-fast speed.

"You're gonna pay for that!", said Mario playfully, and he zoomed after the toad. Wind blowing in his face, and snow spraying onto his clothes, they all too soon reached the bottom.

"I beat you! I'm the best!", shouting Toadbert, celebrating in circles.

"Awww, come on!", Toadofsky grumbled, but his mood soon changed and the toads high-fived each other again.

Three Koopa Troopas came over. They were no doubt brothers, and they all wore thick black goggles, making them a peculiar sight. But the strangest thing about them was that their shells were a bright yellow.

"Well, well, if it isn't the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom!", the lead one said happily. "Can I have your autograph? Please?"

"You mean her_o_", said another. "Luigi helped too."

"Oh yes, Luigi's too", the lead Koopa corrected. "Thanks...wait...where is Luigi, anyway?"

"He's still coming down the mountain. He's not that good of a skier." Toadbert explained.

"Well, in that case..."

Their conversation was broken when a few toads came down the slope. They too had yellow caps.

_What, is yellow becoming the new look_, thought Mario. But his thought quickly changed when he saw that they were carrying someone.

Luigi.

He had a huge bruise on his leg, filled with no doubt much internal bleeding, and the toads were carrying him over to the first aid area.

"Bro!", screamed Mario, and rushed after them. The two mechs quickly figured out what was going on, and waddled over also.

"What happened!"

"We saw him wobble over onto the track from the forest", a toad said. "He was injured. We knew it was Luigi, of course. We knew we had to get him back down on the mountain."

Before long, several nurses had come over.

* * *

><p>Luigi woke up in a white room. Everything was white. The floor was tiled, there were beds everywhere (he himself was lying on one), and there was a strong smell.<p>

_Hospital_, he quickly thought. He was correct.

As his vision cleared more, he saw the familiar faces of Mario, Toadbert and Toadofsky. They were all watching him intently, and as he stirred they all broke into a smile.

Memories then came flooding back, the injury also. And it was then that he realised that his pain was still there.

A toad nurse came over. She wore a white cap with red crosses on it, and she came to inspect Luigi's leg. It was swollen, and had changed colour.

"That doesn't look too good", she muttered, and wrote something on her notebook.

"Will I still be able to drive?", asked a hopeful Luigi.

"Mario Kart?" she figured out what was going on. "If you're _very _lucky – and I mean _very – _you just might, but don't count on it."

Luigi's heart sank.

"Where am I, anyway?"

"DK Ski Resort's hospital. Yes, we do get a lot of injuries (just then, a Yoshi got wheeled in with a broken leg) and so we're on site. No big operations and things like that, of course."

"Well, glad to see you're better", Mario patted Luigi on the back. "You want us to stay?"

"Not really", said Luigi glumly. The last thing he wanted to do was to talk about his accident and his leg.

"Well, in that case, I think we'll go tackle a few more slopes. I still think the ones on the northern side can still be done before dark."

"All right!", said the toads eagerly, and they prepared to leave the hospital room. Luigi suddenly thought of something and shouted across:

"Bro! When and where is the next race!"

"2 days later, at Daisy Cruiser."

Daisy Cruiser was a huge cruise ship owned by Princess Daisy – the largest in her class. Not only does it serve as a Mario Kart course, its deck also serves as a baseball field during Mario Sluggers tournaments.

The hospital room soon became dark at night, with the only sounds being the faint beeping of machines. The pain prevented him from sleeping, and so he read a few pages of a book, but _The Adventures of Alexander the Toad _didn't seem to please him much and so he started to think of the upcoming race.

* * *

><p>The very next day, Luigi still cannot leave the hospital, albeit in the afternoon walking was no problem, even if he had to do so with a limp. Luckily, it has been proven that his leg was not broken – even the doctors could not explain why.<p>

By the 2nd day, which, unfortunately, was already the day of the race, the Mario brothers departed at 3am in the morning – Toadbert volunteered to drive, which allowed the two plumbers to sleep in the back trailer – after all, they'd be racing. The traffic was good and, at around 10 o'clock they were already approaching the harbour where the Daisy Cruiser was parked. Looming over the town of Rogueport, Toadbert was keen to avoid the East Highway by all means possible, as it crossed right over Ishnail's Turf and so they went around, reaching the ship just in time.

The Daisy Cruiser was the largest ship in the Mushroom Kingdom, and also Sarasaland where she was christened. Firstly, the ship would go out to sea and the racers can have a lovely lunch on the ship's prestige restaurant, and the race starts in the afternoon.

Team Mario bros seated themselves in a round table, and a toad waitress brought them their menu. The dish of the day was Cheep Cheep Sushi, but everything else was also quite nice and before long racers were preparing their machines for the final race of the Shell Cup. Everyone wanted to enter the Special Cup ranking highly.

Lakitu turned up shortly afterwards. "And so it begins!", he announced. "The final race of the Shell Cup!"

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	10. Chapter 10: The Daisy Cruiser

As Lakitu signalled the start, every Mario Kart racer blasted off. It was tremendously close – the Bowsers had got a first, the Koopalings a second, the Nitro Dinos a third, the Mario bros a fourth and the rest all fighting for fifth place. Starting out at the deck, the track turned right before going on a glass walkway at the side of the ship. Mario, who was driving, quickly overtook the Nitro Dinos and had his eyes set on the Koopalings. A line of item boxes approached – Mario got the third – and Luigi fired his red shell, which struck the Koopalings fair and square. 2nd.

Afterwards the course opened out again, and at the centre was a large circular swimming pool. Toads were sitting on floating chairs in it, sipping ice drinks and watching the race. Mario raced right along the pool's edge, careful to conserve time, and soon even the Bowsers were within reach.

Bowser Jr., who was driving, was a bit more careful. Soon, the course came back, which led to a winding metal staircase, and there was a steady bang-bang-bang as the _Mario Bros Monster _rattled down its steps, throwing the occupants around. The staircase wound around the outside of the ship to the ship's second level, with pillars of the left and a wall on the right, making it a sort of half-tunnel. Two large doors loomed overhead, with a large sign painted above it, filled with flowers which read 'DINING ROOM'.

The Bowsers ahead of them went right through, and wrecked several dining tables which littered the room, to the waiters' dismay. Luckily, no-one occupied the room at the moment, and Luigi wondered why the Mario Kart officials hadn't bothered to fold the tables away – when a large bang announced that Mario had started ploughing through tables himself.

After the dark dining room, the second pair of doors opened to an arched pathways, with round windows looking out to sea. The Bowsers still showed no signs of weakening and Mario was getting flustered. Afterwards, there was a straight with the normal path on the left and a massive hole on the right. The Bowsers swerved left to avoid the hole, but Mario, who had more knowledge of the course, plunged right into the hole, knowing that it was a shortcut.

The Mario brothers landed into the ship's cargo hold, with boxes and crates of fruit and other edibles being sorted into piles around the narrow track. Soon, it opened into an orange warp pipe – Mario was able to take the item box within it – and they blasted into the sunshine again.

* * *

><p>Bowser Jr. couldn't believe his eyes. The Mario bros have landed before them!<p>

"How the hell -!", he started fuming.

"Must've been the hole", Bowser murmured thoughtfully to himself.

"What?", said Junior, but soon he remembered as well. _The hole_, why was he so stupid?

Suddenly, the Mario bros let loose a banana, which reminded the big Koopas that there was an item box in it as well. Junior managed to dodge it, however.

Back in the _Mario Bros Monster, _Luigi had fired the banana and saw to his dismay that the Koopas managed to avoid it. Mario, in front, was concentrating on the course – which was, after a period of straight, leading up via metal ramp to the top deck again, and across the start/finish line. Lap 2.

Upon entering the glass walkway, the line of item boxes came again and Mario got a shell. To his horror, the Koopas have got _triple red shells_, and they weren't afraid to use them.

Luigi utilised his shell to equal out the first one, but the second one didn't look like missing. Fortunately for the plumbers, it was now the metal staircase and the shell bounced a few times, lost its homing ability, and fell into the sea.

On the deck below, the Bowsers fired their third. The course was too narrow for Mario to attempt a swerve and the shell hit.

"DAMN!", screamed Luigi, as the Koopalings also overtook.

"I'm driving!", Mario said back. It was now the dining room and the Koopalings started plunging through tables. But that also slowed them down, and Mario picked out a smarter route and went around – emerging from the dining room in 2nd.

Apparently the Bowsers had corrected their mistake and went for the hole also, and this was later confirmed when the item box which was found in the orange warp pipe was gone.

But strangely, there was an item box ahead.

"Yes!", said Luigi. "Gimme that item, Mario, and I'll show the Bowsers whose boss!"

"Use your eyes!", responded Mario. "Can't you see its coloured red! Its a fake item box, for goodness sake!"

"That explains it", said Luigi. "No wonder there was no item box!"

Soon, the third lap started and at the glass walkway it was the Mario bros who got lucky this time. Ending up with a blue shell, they managed to blast the Bowsers behind them – ramming them again just to be sure – and Mario and Luigi continued in first place.

Down the stairs and through the dining room, the Mario brothers were unchallenged. Before long, however, a kart emerged and challenged them for the title. Except it wasn't the Bowsers – it wasn't even the Koopalings.

It was the Mighty Meteors.

Apparently, the Koopalings had crashed into a heap of tables, whilst the Bowsers were still chasing after the blue shell.

Their _Twin Comet _was not heavy, but it certainly was fast. Upon exiting the orange pipe, simply by going through the air, was leading.

"Ram them!", shouted Luigi.

Mario gulped. If they missed, it'll send them right over the railing and into the sea. Certain death.

As they went up, Mario thought of something. "Luigi, look at your item screen!"

They had got their item box from the pipe, but in their panic they had completely forgot about it.

"Yes! Red shell!", said Luigi, and clicked 'FIRE'.

The ramp ended, and the Mario brothers finished the course in 1st. The Bowsers had only managed a feeble 6th.

"Ladies and gentlemen!", announced Lakitu. "The finishing lineup:

"Mario and Luigi – Mario Bros!"

The spectators who had come onto the bridge roared their approval. They had wanted them to beat the Bowsers for quite some time now.

"Princess Rosalina and Lubba – Mighty Meteors! Then, it is Ludwig von Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa – King Koopalings! Nitro Dinos! Bowser Beasts! Turbocharged Shrooms! Garlic and Eggplant! Power Princesses! Double DK! And finally, the Super Shells!"

The scoreboard then flashed:

Bowser Beasts | 23

Mario Bros | 22

King Koopalings | 20

Mighty Meteors | 12

Nitro Dinos | 8

Turbocharged Shrooms | 3

Power Princesses | 0

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Double DK | 0

Super Shells | 0

It was the first time that the Bowsers had not scored a single point in a race. The Mario bros were just a single point behind.

* * *

><p>As night fell, and the Daisy Cruiser started to embark on the long, long voyage back to Rogueport, amongst the racers it was a time for celebration. They were in the dining room, eating delicious food while watching a performance. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Toad, Toadette, Yoshi, Birdo, Rosalina and Lubba shared a large table, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Ludwig von Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa shared another, and the third was for Wario, Waluigi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa, who sat amongst themselves.<p>

The performance in question was _Toadio and Shroobiet, _about two individuals whose parents were horrified when their son/daughter had fallen in love.

Next was a musical performance, followed by a feast. Yoshi and Birdo ate the majority of the dishes, whilst the others complained.

But soon, the ship docked at the harbour and the racers all waved goodbye. The night air was really fresh, and the yellow lights of Rogueport lit the streets.

"Good luck in the Special Cup!", said Luigi. What are you planning on doing over the next five days?"

"I'd thought that I would take Toadette to the Glitz Pit to watch a match", explained Toad. "I think Chomp Country are challenging Rawk Hawk for champion, I'm sure it'll be a thriller. Too bad the _Great Gonzales_ isn't participating", Toad added cheekily, remembering how Mario once fought in the arena whilst on a quest to rescue Peach from the Shadow Queen.

"Sure.", said Luigi, and he waved goodbye.

"I'm taking Peach to Sarasaland!", said Daisy, excited. "Wanna come?"

"We'll see", said Luigi.

"Well, we're leaving in two days so you'd better make up your mind!"

"Sure." Mario had been to Sarasaland once, in an incident which involved the alien Tatanga, whilst he has never been there personally.

"It'll be fun!", shouted Daisy from the dock, as they entered a limo.

But with the Special Cup – and Rainbow Road – just five days away, Luigi didn't know what to do, and where to go.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	11. Chapter 11: Sarasaland and Koopa Cape

Their plane took off for Sarasaland early in the morning. It was the flagship of Sarasaland's national airway, _AeroSarasa_, and they were in the first class suite at the very front of the plane. It seems as if not only Mario and Luigi had decided to come, Yoshi, Birdo, Princess Rosalina and even Toad and Toadette came along as well – as their trip took place after their Glitz Pit match, which Rawk Hawk once again won.

Princess Peach, Daisy, Rosalina and Toadette were talking, whilst Mario, Luigi and the dinosaurs were sampling the suite's food and Toad was looking out the window. Soon, rolling plains of the Mushroom Kingdom gave way to a vast expanse of desert with many pyramids. It was a part of Birabuto, one of the realms of Sarasaland.

The airplane started descending, and when the clouds parted the brothers let the beauty of Sarasaland sink in. The desert was now gone, instead replaced with an orient-style far-eastern type city.

"That is the Chai area", explained Princess Daisy. "I was raised there, and it is also capital of the kingdom. The city's name is Chai City."

"I love the orient buildings!", exclaimed Peach.

Luigi nodded.

"Yeah, and the food there is also rather tasty and unique. I think there's something called _Wonton_, a kind of dumpling, and also _Peking Duck _or something like that."

"Food? Yoshi!", exclaimed the dino. Birdo agreed.

Most of the houses were fairly traditional, although there was a couple of multi-storied temple towers, called _Pagodas. _The majority of the population were deeply religious, and consisted of Crazee Dayzees, a few toads and goombas.

There was also the desert area, which was known as the Birabuto area. Many pokeys were to be found on the desert's dunes. A toad with a T-Shirt and camera slung across his neck invited the royal guests into one of the pyramids as part of his tour group. The pyramid in question was the only one open to guests, the others are sealed off and have security measures to keep off thieves.

Upon entering the pyramid, there was an extremely narrow passageway leading down. The only lights came from the helmet of the guide toad, and the air became increasingly stale as they progressed. The walls were made of stone, and hieroglyphs were written all over them. Many of them were of the various gods and even mummification.

"I don't like this environment very much", coughed Peach. This prompted some of the other visitors to make silencing noises.

Suddenly, the path split in three. "One leads to the King's chamber, the other to the Queen's chamber, and the third to the underground chamber which has now caved in", explained the guide toad. "We're gonna enter the King's chamber today."

Soon, the guests entered a room filled with riches – all coloured gold. "As you'd guess, these are from thousands of years ago", the guide toad explained. "No touching!", he added, when a Noki visitor brushed against a golden helmet.

They soon entered the tomb room. "In this room lies the mummy of Toadtankhamun, the toad pharaoh", explained the guide. "It has not been opened yet, of course."

After that, they went out the passage and back outside.

"Well, that was fun!", said Peach.

"A very interesting experience indeed", Rosalina added.

* * *

><p>The very next day they went to Easton, another district located on an island. There were a few huge structures called the Moai, and no-one knew who built them. The island was sparsely inhabited, except for a family of Koopas who cared after the statues.<p>

The final district of Sarasaland was the oceanic Muda. Located underwater, Luigi and company went for a scuba dive. Then it was time to head home.

Princess Daisy, Peach and Rosalina chatted all the way back on the plane. "So you see, Sarasaland started off from four separate cultures and became one kingdom", Daisy was explaining. "That is why it is so diverse."

Mario and Luigi were on another row of seats.

"That was good, wasn't it, bro?" asked Luigi.

"I agree", responded Mario, eating a few mouthfuls of in-flight spaghetti. "The pyramid was cool."

"I can't wait to tell Toadbert and Toadofsky the news", said Luigi. The two toads had decided not to come. Despite the Mario bros attempting to talk them out of it, they positively insisted on working the _Mario Bros Monster_.

"Just to make sure, where is the next race?", asked Mario between a gulp.

Luigi tapped his laptop a few times. "Koopa Cape."

"Sounds easy", said Mario.

"Well, its a _Special Cup _course, and it most definitely isn't", insisted Luigi. "It is long and complex. Very difficult. You'll see in two days, anyway."

"In the meantime, we should get some sleep", agreed Mario. "It is now ten o'clock and we won't be on the ground until 7 tomorrow. I feel sleepy already."

"Sure thing, bro."

* * *

><p>A small boat took the brothers to Shell Island, where Koopa Cape was located. It was owned by an extremely wealthy Koopa called Koopwick, and was located extremely out to sea. That, and the huge waves, made a selection of racers seasick.<p>

"Good grief. I feel like regurgitating!", wailed Toad, before heading off to the bathroom at the rear.

Upon docking, the racers all went up to the start of the course, where the pole position shootout would be taking place. Lakitu was already there, and welcomed the racers.

"Attention all Mario Kart racers!", he started. "It is a pleasure for me to announce that starting from now, the prestigious Special Cup has BEGUN!"

A whooping cheer filled the island. As it died down, Lakitu continued speaking. "As you can see, this is no easy course. Good luck!"

Luigi and Mario held a pamphlet, with a detailed map of the course. Soon, it was time to start. Being in first, the Bowsers did their three laps, and earned a highly respectable time of 7:13:44.

Luigi, who was driving, got in the car. Lakitu came and did his business, and soon he was driving along a cliff edge that was the start of the course. A beautiful waterfall flowed on a ledge on top of him. Soon, Luigi came to a ramp, which blasted him onto another stretch of cliff. This led him to a cave-like area with a roof but there was no walls on the right-hand side. Going out into the open again, there was a U-turn (which Luigi was prepared for, thanks to a sign).

The U-turn led onto a ramp, which got him onto a river. Luigi couldn't believe his eyes – _he was racing on the river_! But soon he realised that the river was made of glass, and that the actual water flowed beneath. Bypassing a Koopa shell-shaped tunnel (which would house item boxes in the actual race), the river wound a few more times between more tunnels and bush before the path ended.

Luigi's heart was in his mouth – he was freefalling! Soon, after a drop he fell into the largest warp pipe he'd ever seen that was actually a hole, which led to an underwater tunnel. Except for two strips of LED along its side, the rest was completely see-through, and Luigi marvelled at the assortment of fish which swam by. But then two massive bladed fans filled the tunnel, and Luigi had to drive carefully to avoid its three rotating wooden blades.

Then the tunnel ended, and a third ramp – an actual curve that was, by far, the largest of them all – made him go back onto the paved dirt road. After curving around another waterfall, it came back to the start/finish line.

_Surely I'm beating the Bowsers now?_, Luigi wondered.

But there was still two laps to go. His second lap was even better than his first.

He punched his fist. He was smashing the Bowsers.

Luigi knew that, for him, the third lap was always the hardest. Alongside the cliff edge. No problem. Winding with the river. Flawless. Into the tunnel. Absolutely excellent. And soon, he had aced the entire shootout.

"Great job, bro!", said Mario, opening his arms warmly.

"Well, that is the first time which I haven't completely screwed one", Luigi admitted.

Even Toadbert, the manager of Team Mario Bros' statistics, was elated. Luigi had smashed the Bowsers with a 7:07:26 – more than _6 entire seconds!_

* * *

><p>Next was the Koopalings, and had the brothers biting their fingernails. They were good.<p>

But not good enough. Their 7:09:02 got them a second place. After the Bowsers, the Nitro Dinos came fourth, followed by the Mighty Meteors. After the end of the shootout, this was the starting lineup:

Mario Bros | 7:07:26

King Koopalings | 7:09:02

Bowser Beasts | 7:13:44

Nitro Dinos | 7:14:59

Mighty Meteors | 7:15:24

Power Princesses | 7:18:10

Turbocharged Shrooms | 7:18:45

Double DK | 7:19:43

Garlic and Eggplant | 7:20:55

Super Shells | 7:29:58

"What a shootout we have seen!", said Lakitu. "Amazingly close and amazingly good to watch! But that is nothing compared to the race we have next!"

"Teamwork!", said Luigi.

The two brothers got into the _Mario Bros Monster_, and waited for Lakitu to give the signal. Eighteen other racers in nine other karts did the same. The first race of the Special Cup was now underway.

Race time.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	12. Chapter 12: Starting the Special Cup

As Lakitu's green light shone, _everyone _got the rocket start. Luigi started out first, thanks to his excellent shootout and the Koopalings were right behind them. Everyone was keeping well clear of the cliff and instead all stuck to the ledge's inside, even though it slowed them down. The racers all flew up the ramp, and a line of item boxes gave the Mario bros a blooper, the Koopalings a green shell and the Bowsers a golden mushroom which blasted them from third to first. Into the cave area, and the Koopalings took the risk of overtaking outside, right on the edge of the cliff.

Luigi felt a sudden wave of hatred well up inside him. He wanted to give them a DNF – force them off the ledge. He wanted vengeance for all the things they've done to him.

Mario must've spotted want Luigi was thinking, and he tried his best to stop his bro.

"Doing that would just make you as bad as them", he warned. But Luigi just kept on getting angrier and angrier.

"Does it look like I care!", screamed Luigi, temper flaring. "Those good-for-nothing Koopas have tried to stop us for so many times from fighting in the fortresses to Mario Kart now! They hate us and I hate them back!"

Suddenly, Mario was at the loss of words. He didn't know if he was either speechless or that he agreed with his brother. But their constant bickering had brought them to the U-turn area, and it was only at the last second did Luigi notice and pull his car back. This not only allowed the Koopalings to creep in front and come in 2nd, but the fourth-placed Nitro Dinos as well.

Luigi went up the second ramp and onto the glass river. He came to the first turn, and swooped inside the Mighty Meteors who were trying to overtake, forcing them back again. He did not bother the shell tunnel as all the boxes were gone anyway; instead he kept to the path and soon the Nitro Dinos exited right beside them – with triple green shells.

Luigi cursed, but the dinos instead started to fire their shells, the second which took out the Koopalings and brought them into 4th (one place behind the Mario bros) and the third _almost _got the leading Bowsers.

A couple of turns followed, and then it was the waterfall drop. Landing into the underwater tunnel, Luigi manoeuvred around the now-shelless dinos by going up the pipe's sides and ended up in 2nd. The Bowsers were next.

The two rotating fans had the Bowsers brake a lot, and all too easily Luigi took another opening and went into the lead. Exiting the tunnel up the third ramp, they soon came to the start/finish line.

"And at the end of the first lap, the Mario Bros are in first, followed by the King Koopalings, Nitro Dinos, King Koopalings and Mighty Meteors!", said Lakitu. "Then, it is a gap, followed by the Power Princesses, Double DK, Turbocharged Shrooms, Garlic and Eggplant and the Super Shells!"

Thundering down the cliff face again, the battle continued with the Bowsers right beside them. Luigi tried to push them away, but their monstrous Koopa King did not budge one bit. But then, Luigi _stopped _pushing...

Bowsers span out. Just a millimetre more and they would've fell down the cliff. Up the first ramp, and Luigi got a mushroom. This got him further ahead.

The Nitro Dinos laid down a banana tripping the Koopalings, and third was given to the Mighty Meteors. The Bowsers had already gotten their box, however, and they used their mushroom to overtake Garlic and Eggplant to come in 4th.

The cave section followed, and then they went onto the glass river. Luigi took the item boxes in the shell-shaped tunnel, which turned out to be a star. Next was the Nitro Dinos, who got a...blue shell.

The Mario bros got flung back to 5th (the star had already wore off), between the Bowsers and the Wario bros.

The Mighty Meteors then got a red shell, which pushed the Nitro Dinos back to 3rd.

The leaderboard looked like this:

Mighty Meteors

King Koopalings

Nitro Dinos

Bowser Beasts

Mario Bros

The waterfall came up ahead. Entering the pipe, the Bowsers went up the wall before going down again, smashing the dinos out, and Luigi also took advantage of this opportunity.

Meanwhile, the Koopalings were locked in a battle with the Mighty Meteors. The Meteors eventually prevailed, sending the Koopalings back 6th. They soon were back into action, behind the Mario brothers.

The pipe opened out again, and soon it was the start of Lap 3. The Mario brothers were behind the Meteors and the Bowsers, in 3rd. Up the first ramp, the Meteors surprised everyone by dodging the Bowsers' red shell, before using their own mushroom to blast further ahead, and Luigi's bob-omb did nothing to affect the top 5.

Onto the glass river, the lineup was still the same. The Meteors got a blooper, which targeted the Bowsers, whom in turn used their triple green shells to act as a shield.

"They're not shooting their shells!", said Luigi angrily, which was what he expected. "What have we got?"

"Looks like we've just got lucky", grinned Mario. "We've got a star."

The Mario brothers used this to knock off two of the Bowsers' shells and went to 2nd. Shield now useless, the Bowsers used their final shell as a weapon, which was only millimetres away from the _Mario Bros Monster _but still hit nothing.

There were going into the pipe now. The Meteors still had a comfortable lead, and it was obvious that nothing short of a blue shell could stop them. A blue shell never came, and they finished 1st.

Second place was a tighter contest. The Bowsers and Luigi were ever-so-close, but the plumber's intelligent driving got the Mario brothers the 2nd.

4th was given to the Nitro Dinos, and the Power Princesses had managed to beat _both _the Wario bros and the Koopalings to get a 5th.

"And that is all, ladies and gentlemen", concluded Lakitu. "The race is finished and this is the finishing lineup: Mighty Meteors, Mario Bros, Bowser Beasts, Nitro Dinos, Power Princesses, Garlic and Eggplant, King Koopalings, Double DK, Turbocharged Shrooms, and finally the Super Shells. The scores are as follows:

Bowser Beasts | 26

Mario Bros | 26

King Koopalings | 20

Mighty Meteors | 17

Nitro Dinos | 10

Turbocharged Shrooms | 3

Power Princesses | 1

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Double DK | 0

Super Shells | 0

Congratulations, Mario Bros and Bowser Beasts!"

With that, Lakitu finished his speech, and went off to who-knows-where as the television crews all dropped their cameras.

* * *

><p>"Only two more races to go", said Luigi sullenly. "And the next course is no other than Rosalina's Ice World." It was a new track, and Luigi was definitely notlooking forward to yet another icy course.<p>

"That's right, bro", said Mario cheerily, sipping some tea. The brothers were on the back porch of Mario's house. It overlooked a large expanse of ground and fields. The wooden porch, which was an add-on of Mario's mansion, gave the impression of a ranch.

Mario, as much as he liked to participate in more active sports, such as Strikers, Sluggers or Sports Mix, also loved relaxing in the warm sunshine at the back of his house.

The sun was now setting and cast of an orange glow around the clouds. It did not look like a round ball of fire anymore, and instead took on the shape of a line of light wrapped around the distant horizon.

"How much do you want the tournament to be over?", asked Luigi, drinking his cup dry.

"Not really", responded Mario. "I enjoy Mario Kart. Besides, after it finishes we have a Mario Party to attend, which I'm quite hesitant to go to."

"Of course", agreed Luigi.

* * *

><p>Down at the Toad Town basketball courts, Toadbert and Toadofsky were having a competitive basketball match with each other. Toadofsky tried to steal the ball but ended up falling over, and Toadbert slammed it home to win the match 20-4.<p>

It was now night, and the only lights came from lamps held high above the courts. The two toads were the only one playing ball – everyone else had already gone home to eat dinner.

As they walked down the main street, smells of food came from all the houses. Roast turkey, grilled mushroom, fire flower, and a thousand others greeted the very much hungry toads.

Toadbert, happy with his huge victory, jumped around a couple of times. Toadofsky tried dribbling the ball between his legs and other tricks.

They soon reached Mario's mansion. The only sign of the Mario bros' occupation was the lone dining room light that shone through the window.

Upon entering, they saw the elaborate feast that has been prepared for them.

Sitting down in a chair, Toadbert took a big bite of chicken leg before the four members of Team Mario Bros started a discussion about the day's race.

"Its nice to be finally tied with the Bowsers", said Luigi between several mouthfuls of steak.

"I agree", continued Mario, eating some egg. "But the next race is at their own circuit, and so they'd probably pull ahead of us again."

"So we'd have to race really hard", reasoned Toadofsky. "And I'll have to improve the kart, as well."

After finishing the three-course meal and then the dessert, the four members all said goodbye and parted ways. Unlike last season, Toadbert and Toadofsky had both brought houses of their own and they were more than happy to live in them.

Luigi entered his own house, which was icy cold. Ever since the run-in with King Boo at his mansion, he has been scared of dark places. Lighting a few candles, he changed and then went off to bed.

The next course was only two days away.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	13. Chapter 13: Rosalina's Ice World

Luigi was looking out the window of a gigantic mushroom-shaped spaceship, which was taking them to Rosalina's Ice World, located way out in space. For Luigi, DK Summit was hard enough - yet Rosalina had already guaranteed that her course is much, much harder than that. The star princess was talking to some of other girls on the trip; namely Peach, Daisy and Birdo.

Mario was making himself a nice mushroom-flavoured smoothie at the self-serve food area. DK and Diddy were making banana smoothies, whilst some other racers were dancing to the beat of a song blasting on the loudspeakers.

The spaceship landed on a derelict, icy world. A dozen igloos, built in a similar fashion to the Comet Observatory's domes, were to be found on the home straight. A tower which looked like the Observatory's spiral, completed with a beacon at the bottom, provided light to the world. The starting track was on a stone pathway which had been completely frozen over; and beyond the igloos and the spiral steep cliffs rose up on both sides.

"Luckily there are no snow in the cosmos", said Luigi, thinking back to his horrible ski trip again, as he and Mario walked out. "This definitely wasn't what I expected."

"Funnily enough, I'd be happy to live here", said Mario, inspecting the place. "If Peach decides too, of course", he added hastily and laughed. "It'll be good to live far away from Bowser". The Koopas, on the other hand, didn't hear and were already looking at the beacon as if they wanted it to be theirs. Luigi had a sinking feeling that, if it wasn't for this being a Mario Kart race, they'd definitely steal it.

"Alright everyone, the race starts in an hour so you'd better get ready", announced Lakitu, all wrapped up in scarves. "We've managed to allocate ten of those igloos as your team pits. I recommend you get started!", he added, when no-one moved.

Mario, Luigi as well as Toadbert and Toadofsky entered their pit. Being an igloo, water often dripped down, but everything else suited the mechs – there was even a rack of tyres and some carton canisters in a corner of it.

* * *

><p>Soon, it was time to race. There was no spectators, save for the world's few residents (mostly toads). Purple curtains had been draped over some of the igloos. They hanged in a row between street lamps too, made out of three stars whose light was completely overpowered by the beacon.<p>

The racers reached the first line of item boxes. Luigi got the second box, their kart nestled between the Twin Comet and the Koopa King. A grand golden arch with several stars imprinted on it passed overhead, and soon there was a halfpipe like area.

This time, Mario was driving, and Luigi fired the first of his three green shells. His first one went up the sides of the pipe and back down again, smashing the Meteors back. The Bowsers then fired their three red shells, but two got blocked by Luigi's other two shells and Mario expertly avoided the third.

"Holy crap!", Mario shouted. Half of the pipe had just ended, and the brothers found themselves racing on the edge of a cliff with an incline. At the very bottom was icy water, and the rescue crew.

Next was a small cavern, and icicles hung all the way to the bottom. Mario did his best to avoid them, but the Bowsers just ploughed clean through, the icicles not standing a chance against the bulbous nose of the Koopa King.

Afterwards was another halfpipe, albeit this one had higher sides and more turns. The Bowsers barged their way into first – third was the Nitro Dinos. The Koopalings were still too far back to pose a threat.

There was then a ramp-like snow hill at the end of the halfpipe which allowed the racers to land on a narrow bit of ice. Mario progressed in a zigzag-like fashion, due to the ice being quite uneven, and right beside them was water. Mario screamed again, for a chunk of ice fell down in front of them to reveal a lake of water; Mario managed to turn just in time.

They soon exited the floating ice onto an area between two walls – enormous columns of ice jutted out from the snow beneath. Mario just had to avoid them, and an extra turn allowed the dinos to overtake as well.

"Whoa there!", said Luigi, for Mario's reckless driving had caused them to hit a column side on. This caused the side window to be smashed into a million pieces and the left door to crumple in severely.

"Sorry about that!", Mario half-joked.

Another row of item boxes came up afterwards. Mario dodged a banana laid by the dinos and then used his mushroom to blast back to second. The Bowsers had got a harmless blooper.

Then there was an enormous cavern. It led to a practically endless abyss; the track progressed on a narrow ledge on the left. The ledge was made of ice and bits of it often fell down.

The brothers were relieved when they went back to the start/finish line, and snow gave way to frozen road. But their relief quickly ended as the half-pipe came up again, and Mario got another mushroom. This got them a first place – the Bowsers had got a banana again, and the dinos a shell which missed by far.

The cliff opened out. Mario wasn't surprised this time and kept to the safe side of the halfpipe. Before long, they were onto the frozen ice again, and then the area with the icy columns. Mario was a bit more careful this time round and took his turns more closely, but that also allowed the Bowsers to come right on their tail. The three item boxes after held nothing harmful.

Onto the ledge, and the two racers raced side by side. Mario tried to push the Bowsers off, but the Koopa King was too heavy and did not budge. The course led outside, to the start of Lap 3. Once again, the item boxes did nothing to help the racers. The plumbers and the big Koopas crashed into each other a few times, and it was always the bros who lost. The _Mario Bros Monster _got a door broken off its hinges, another smashed window and eventually even the roof fell off.

"We're driving a convertible!", Luigi laughed.

"Not really, since convertibles can always fold their roof back on!"

On the floating ice, the Bowsers and the plumbers were still side-by-side. The Bowsers were too afraid to get aggressive, since the course was just too narrow. On the next area the Bowsers tried to push Mario and Luigi into one of the ice columns, but miraculously it did not succeed.

Onto the ledge, still no-one knew who would win. The shoving continued, but once again it wasn't very intense.

"Come on, bro!", encouraged Luigi. "We're in this to win this!"

"I _know_!", said Mario. It was now the home straight. "When the Bowsers swipe us, I'll brake and spin them out!"

"What if they use the weapon?", asked Luigi. It was responded with a "I don't know!".

* * *

><p>"Ready the weapon!", Bowser Jr., who was driving, commanded.<p>

Bowser took control of the red lever.

"That is what they're doing!", Luigi, back in his own kart, said. "They are gonna use the weapon and we're doomed!"

"Wait, we might back it!", reasoned Mario confidently.

However, back in the Bowsers' car, there was a problem – the spinning blade had stopped. It had apparently jammed.

"It isn't working!", Bowser roared. "The weapon is stuck!"

"Pull it back in! We don't want the officials to see!", urged Bowser Jr. Bowser agreed.

The finish line came and went. The two karts had crossed..._exactly at the same time!_

* * *

><p>"Trust me, that was <em>tremendously <em>close", said Toadbert. Team Mario Bros were back in their igloo pit, enjoying the fire Toadofsky had built up. They were expecting an official any second now to tell them who would take first place, and who would get the second.

After five minutes, there was nothing. The brothers left their igloo, to leave the toads working on the kart. They had been appalled to see two smashed windows, a missing door and also the roof.

All of the officials were standing beside a big screen, where a detailed re-play was being seen.

"What is going on?", asked Luigi.

"You and the Bowsers have both got a 10:19:38", a pink-coloured Yoshi explained. "This is the closest finish we've had so far in Mario Kart history. We might have to declare a dead heat."

"A dead heat!"

"Yes", continued the pink Yoshi. "You know how normally the winning team gets 5 points, the runner-up4 and so on? Well, you and the Bowsers are _both _getting four points this time."

"Seems fair enough", muttered Mario.

Lakitu had soon been informed, and he proceeded to tell it to the television reporters. "Ladies and gentlemen! The winners are no-one! It is now officially a dead heat between the Mario Bros and the Bowser Beasts!"

There were many gasps.

"And so, without further ado, I'll tell you the scores – once again, the two aforementioned teams are all tied up! But first, let us see the finishing lineup!

"Tied at first, Mario Bros and Bowser Beasts! Third, Mighty Meteors! Fourth, Nitro Dinos! Fifth, King Koopalings! Sixth, Turbocharged Shrooms! Seventh, Double DK! Eighth, Power Princesses! Ninth, Garlic and Eggplant! And finally, the Super Shells!"

Lakitu then narrated the scores, and they were as follows:

Bowser Beasts | 30

Mario Bros | 30

King Koopalings | 21

Mighty Meteors | 20

Nitro Dinos | 12

Turbocharged Shrooms | 3

Power Princesses | 1

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Double DK | 0

Super Shells | 0

Mario and Luigi stared at the scoreboard, speechless. Tied at first with only Rainbow Road left to go! Just how important the last race would be was blatantly obvious. With the scores being one of closest in Mario Kart history, everyone knew that it would also come down as one of the best races in Mario Kart history as well.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	14. Chapter 14: To the final race!

Luigi walked slowly to the corner shop. _Why is it always me who has to do the grocery shopping?_, he thought. After years of living at Toad Town, Luigi found out that although its streets were clean, its houses neat and its residents nice, it was also extremely dull. Being a typical clean, tidy and pleasant town, it was nice to live in but also significantly lacked adventure. Luigi wanted activities out of the ordinary – activities where he could go places, such as Mario Kart.

The corner shop was owned by a green-robed Shy Guy. It often had its share of customers and was extremely popular with the town's residents. This was expected as its prices were all amazingly low – something that is completely ordinary in a nice, pleasant town.

"Hey, Luigi! How are you doing? I'm your self-proclaimed biggest fan!", greeted the Shy Guy warmly. "I've been rooting for you in all of your races, and I've remembered all of your quotes! It is such a delight to meet you first person!"

"Hey, Maskio", replied Luigi; he was a regular at the shop. It was only this year that his number of fans had significantly increased. A couple of toads buying tinned mushrooms at an aisle also turned and pointed.

"Also, Luigi?", asked Maskio.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I've noticed something funny about the Bowsers' kart", Maskio continued. "You know how you guys failed the first race? I suspect they have something to do with it. And also, they've apparently tried to race right alongside you, touching your kart for some bizarre reason. You'd better be careful."

"Thanks for the advice", responded Luigi. He did not know wether to tell him or not, but since the Shy Guy was such an avid fan of his, he decided to.

"They have a...a...weapon?", freaked Maskio. "That is such horrid news! You must report them!"

"We've already tried", said Luigi bitterly. With that, he walked out of the shop...

"Hey, Luigi! Got the groceries yet? I'm _starving_!", whinged Mario, lying on the couch.

"The groceries! How could I forget!", Luigi facepalmed. He had been so occupied with talking to Maskio that he had completely forgotten.

"Oh Luigi, you're such a...anyway, dinners gone, what shall we do? I want to eat!", said Mario, changing the subject.

Just then, Toadbert and Toadofsky burst in. They had instant noodles packaged in paper containers. "Guys, we've got some ramen! You want some?"

"We have to, because Luigi screwed the shopping", said Mario.

* * *

><p>Once again there was another trip into space, this time for Rainbow Road. The Mario bros had agreed that, after much consideration, Luigi should do the driving (and Mario item handler). By then, spaceship rides were nothing special for Luigi, and thus he was indulged in a crossword of the <em>Mushroom Chronicle.<em>

Soon, their spaceship arrived at an elaborately designed rainbow structure. A small house was floating right beside the visible start line, and looked like a miniature version of Peach's castle – the flag of the Mushroom Kingdom proudly showing on the top of the centre tower. A glass walkway extended from the front door to the outside, giving the ship a place to dock. The racers all proceeded from the ship to the building, whilst observing their surroundings – the glass walkway was of course made of glass tiles, with golden images of a golden mushroom with wings imprinted on them.

The inside of the building was just as stunning to behold. The rooftops and walls were composed of elegant arches and curves; not unlike the real Peach's castle. There was also a food counter where food was to be served, since the Mario crew would be staying for lunch and possibly dinner.

A screen was taped onto one of the walls, fed by an overhead projector. On it, there was a camera stuck to a kart as it went around the course, giving all the racers a first-person view:

After the start, there was a small curve with star-shaped fences on either side. After an immediate line of item boxes, the road wound around a spherical asteroid before opening out into space; afterwards was a ramp-based section where racers could get boosts on the boost ramps. This was needed to clear the section. Then there was another asteroid, the road wound around it again and this time the road was in sections, racers needed to use the boost ramps to get to the next area of track.

Afterwards was a rainbow-coloured trampoline. By bouncing on it, racers got to the next stretch of road. The road then wound up and down, a line of item boxes were also placed there. Then was a checkpoint before a whopping 270-degree turn, soon after karts were dropped onto the cream-coloured rings of a planet. Racers must be careful as there a holes in the rings and racers might drop through the holes and into oblivion...well not really, since rescue crews would rescue them and then take him or her back to their pit, racer becoming a spectator.

Then was a darker part of the rings with many boosts placed within; this was one of the fastest sections of track. Then the rings abruptly ended, a launch star shaped ring blasted racers onto a third section. Then the road became very broad, boosts were always placed on the upper portion.

Following was an area with many spherical holes; the holes also moved making clearing them super-difficult. Then they landed on an actual planet, with many craters. The craters were not deep and thus racers could go through them, but this would definitely decrease their time.

Chomp heads were also to be found on the planet. Racers must fly through a particularly large crater to obtain another line of item boxes, before the planet ends and the chomps roll off the track. After the second checkpoint racers could race on actual rainbow road again. A curve was a cylinder which racers race in followed; the cylinder turns and boost panels are located on them. Racers were then thrown to another part of track with many areas. Racers must choose the correct path to avoid losing time. On some areas there are launch-star shaped boost rings which further catapult the racers in front. Then there was a twisty portion before the final end of the course.

* * *

><p>The demonstration ended when the rider turned off the camera – it was pre-recorded, and not live. Luigi suspected that it had taken the demonstration driver several times to complete the track flawlessly, anyway.<p>

"The food counter is now open!", announced a koopa waitress behind it. She had a dark blonde hair, and although she also had the yellow skin of a normal koopa, there was also a distinct orange tinge to it. Since there was still 45 minutes before the race, Team Mario Bros had decided to indulge themselves with a high-quality meal.

There was really not much the racers could say, and the room was mostly silent as the racers munched on their meals.

But this was interrupted by Lakitu, as he started calling racers out to their shootouts (since Rainbow Road's starting lineup was based on the final shootout). First up was the Bowsers, who finished eating their meat (which is apparently the favourite food of the Koopas) and rushed out, stopping only to do a victory dance...even though their shootout hadn't started yet. After a few minutes, out of one of the room's many windows Luigi saw the Bowsers' kart - the Koopa King - being driven out to the start line. Bowser Jr. was driving this time, despite also being the driver of the previous race, since on Rainbow Road racers can choose their preferred positions. Since this was a shootout, Bowser decided to not get in the kart and cheered his son on from their pit.

Jr. perfected the rocket start and went around the asteroid. Luigi, Mario, Toadofsky and Toadbert intently watched their rival.

"That wasn't a very good turn", said Toadbert, as he calculated the possible time and others. "He should've cut inside more."

"Hehe, we'll beat them for sure", agreed Toadofsky. The toad was eyeing the glittering, golden Mario Kart trophy placed inside a glass cabinet, placed on the centre of the road for everyone to see.

Luigi didn't want to ruin the overconfidence of the toads, and so he continued to watch the race. The sheer length of the track meant that Jr. was soon out of eyesight.

The young Koopa comfortably navigated the last few obstacles, and without the presence of other racers he found it relatively easy. The crossed the finish line and slowly lost speed, before he came to a complete stop at the sold-out grandstand which cheered; most of his fans were from the Koopa Troop or Darkland.

Soon, Luigi started out for the track; Mario and the toads gave him a final thumbs up and patted his back to reassure him. Luigi ignored both these actions, his mind blank except for one thought: completing the shootout.

_I can do this_, his mind raced. _I am Luigi, hero of the Mushroom Kingdom...this is my time to shine._

Luigi drove his kart via a side road (also rainbow-coloured) onto the main racetrack, these thoughts circling in his mind.

Lakitu took up position on the rainbow-coloured banner with the Mario Kart emblem, light in hand. "Three!"

Luigi's hands gripped the steering wheel.

"Two!"

Luigi let go of the brake.

"One!"

Luigi prepared to put his foot on the accelerator.

"GO!"

Luigi blasted off. He was now racing on the most prestigous Mario Kart track in the world.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


	15. Chapter 15: Tension and Preparations

Luigi gripped the steering wheel and turned inside as the course made a u-turn around a floating chunk of asteroid. Three hollow launch-star shaped structures were to be found, the hole in the middle containing the track. Soon came the several ramps; they were easily overcome and after the second asteroid – Luigi took care not to miss a single boost – the trampoline also didn't pose much of a threat. After the moving wounding road (which caught Luigi off guard a couple of times), Luigi had past the first section.

Checkpoint.

After a few more turns which Luigi drifted through, he soon found himself racing onto the rings. The holes were not too much of a problem, and soon the launch star came (once again, not a single boost was missed). Luigi didn't jump correctly and the _Mario Bros Monster _almost fell off; it was only by sheer luck that he survived. Soon the green-clad man was racing again. Luigi had to skid a couple of times to avoid the spherical moving holes which came after. This was the only section so far which Luigi didn't perform up to his standards.

Luigi landed on the planet with a rough bang which shook his kart. The chomps (since this wasn't the actual race) hadn't been released yet, allowing for some easy racing.

Checkpoint.

The rolling cylinder didn't cause the plumber to lose time, but the next section did due to another nasty landing. But, overall, it was a nice race.

Lakitu waved the chequered black-and-white flag. Finish.

The first indication to Luigi about whether he did good or bad was the crowd's reaction. They were cheering and making a Mexican wave – which was positive – but not as loudly as he had hoped. The rest of his team were already in his pit – smiling, but not as broadly as he had hoped, either.

Toadbert started the conversation. "Bowser Jr. got the time of 10:08:24."

Mario continued. "Whilst you got..."

Toadofsky finished with "...10:08:57."

Luigi sighed. Under a second!

* * *

><p>Unknown to him, the Koopalings had begun their shootout – Ludwig von Koopa was their preferred driver, and her sister and teammate, Wendy O. Koopa, was cheering from the sidelines. Not wanting to start a conversation with them, Team Mario Bros headed via a rainbow-coloured path back to the building. Not surprisingly, ever one of their heads were glued to the window, watching the race (completely ignoring the cafeteria koopa, which did the same). Toad was one of the only ones who turned their heads as the plumbers walked in – the dino giving the green clad man a hearty pat on the back.<p>

"Don't worry, you'll beat the crap out of them", said the mushroom man, pointing to Bowser and son who were shouting lame insults at everyone.

The Koopalings came back and refused to tell their time to everyone, but an announcement on the speakers gave everyone their result all the same: 10:16:53. Way behind the Mario brothers by almost eightseconds.

The Meteors managed a 10:14:33, earning them a second. Most of the others did not come close, and thus the starting lineup for the actual race was decided.

Before the race started, however, a couple of bands entertained the racers and a play was also performed, dinner was served also. On a round table with four chairs this time Team Mario Bros decided to sit alone.

Luigi gulped down his meal in big mouthfuls – racing drained his energy, and he was _really _hungry. Being the hero of the kingdom, he had tasted what the finest chefs in the world had to offer, but this beat all of them. It didn't surprise him when he was informed that it was cooked by Princess Peach's official cook.

"What I don't understand", started Luigi as he paused to drink his Mushroom Cola, "is that why you wanted me to race at Rainbow Road."

Mario was puzzled. "Why not?"

"Since you're the better racer, and don't deny it. You're the twenty-time Mario Kart champion, after all."

Toadbert nudged Toadofsky and told him all about Luigi's self-confidence problems.

"Really?", responded Mario, "To be honest I'm not sure. You were Mario Kart champion last year, you beat me at Rainbow Road, and you really exceeded everyone's expectations on a couple of races this season also. Besides, you should consider this decision a privilege."

Luigi was not sure what to say. Mario motioned to the toad waiter to ask for a large bowl of delicious spaghetti, and for the rest of the meal the brothers talked about their various exciting adventures throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. The race would begin in an hour.

* * *

><p>The minutes felt much, much longer than they actually were. This bothered Luigi – he still hadn't managed to control his nerves. The crowd expected nothing less than a win or a second – Luigi looked outside at them, and the majority had the unmistakable clothes of a mushroom retainer which showed their wealth and their royalty to the kingdom. This honour was given to Peach's most trustworthy advisers, servants who exceeded themselves, individuals who fought bravely in battle and could be obtained in other noble ways.<p>

Officially, there was only fifteen minutes to go. Although day and night are two nonsensical concepts in space, lamps were lit replacing the day ones to add to the mood. As the last band sung out their final note, all was quiet until Lakitu's voice boomed over the loudspeakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! This race is sure to become one of the greatest in Mario Kart history!" At that, the audience roared. "But before we start, let's show the times of the last shootout of the tournament – and give the racers an introduction they deserve!"

A table flashed onto the screen:

Bowser Beasts | 10:08:24

Mario Bros | 10:08:57

Mighty Meteors | 10:14:33

King Koopalings | 10:16:53

Turbocharged Shrooms | 10:19:47

Garlic and Eggplant | 10:24:18

Nitro Dinos | 10:26:07

Power Princesses | 10:29:45

Super Shells | 11:03:51

Double DK | DNF

The Kongs had been a little careless at the final portion, and so a Did Not Finish was what they got.

"This is close, folks, and the rivalry between the Bowser Beasts and the Mario Bros is definitely beginning to heat up! Its remind ourselves of the scores!"

Bowser Beasts | 30

Mario Bros | 30

King Koopalings | 21

Mighty Meteors | 20

Nitro Dinos | 12

Turbocharged Shrooms | 3

Power Princesses | 1

Garlic and Eggplant | 0

Double DK | 0

Super Shells | 0

Lakitu continued; "And so…without further ado, the introductions! Once again, I remind you just how close the first and second place would be – even I'm excited!

They may be last on the ladder, but don't let that fool you! They're worthy opponents, they're kart is the _Smashin' Shell_ and they are composed of Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…the **Super Shells!**"

The audience cheered.

"They may be strong, but brute force isn't their only strong point! Composed of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, the _Rocket Drum_ is their choice of kart! Put your hands together for…**Double DK!**"

Another cheer.

"One is small and strong, the other tall and lean! They may look to be polar opposites, but their teamwork is legendary! They're Wario and Waluigi, they're kart is the _Muscle Miner_! Give it up for…**Garlic and Eggplant!**"

"When the Princess of our beautiful kingdom and the princess of Sarasaland come together, you know a formidable racing team is formed! Princess Peach and Princess Daisy drive around in the _Royal Racer_. Their team name? The **Power Princesses!**"

"These servants of Princess Peach aren't afraid to go for gold, and that's why almost midway through the ladder! They may look small and weak, but they can race! The _Speedy Shroom_ is their kart. They are the awesome **Turbocharged Shrooms!**"

"Yoshi and Birdo are anything but extinct! With a great driving style and an excellent kart, I give to you…the **Nitro Dinos!**"

"The beautiful ruler of the cosmos and her trusty advisor certainly do make a great racing team! They are coming in fourth, but they may as well be in first! The _Twin Comet_ is their ride. In fourth, ladies and gentlemen, it is…the **MIGHTY METEORS!**"

"Newcomers are usually last-placed, but these guys were determined to be different! They are in the highly respectable position of third and if they race right they'll earn the bronze today! Can the Mighty Meteors defeat them? We'll see! But in the meantime, ladies and gentlemen, give a loud applaud for the **KING KOOPALINGS!**"

"These big, burly royal Koopas have smashed and bashed their way through the opposition to cruise in equal first! Only one team stands in their way. Can they crush them as well? Today's race holds the answer! It's the **BOWSER BEASTS!**"

"You know them, you love them! Arguably the best Mario Kart team of all time! Can they claim gold today? I assure you, that's the question on everybody's mind! Once again, I ask you to applaud…this time for the **MARIO BROS!**"

The most deafening cheer Luigi has ever heard rocketed throughout the stadium. This was it.

The deciding race.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON**


End file.
